It can not be. But the experience itself was, for me, very easy. I started out to try to reply to truth about what I tried to do to mitigate the effects of my brain damage . In March 1998 I tried my first adult ed writing class. After I wrote it (and rewrote it according to their specifications) they decided there was not enough space to print my article. Even more disconcerting is the feeling of discombobulation its like looking back at a dream period, where youre not entirely sure what really happened, and I find this troubling. This device can destroy brain cells, and other parts of the cerebral area. They still do that? These questions repeat so often, my eyes start to roll. Count me in. It's been a hard burden to bear the past 15 years. A dear friend of mine survived several rounds of ECT in her younger days and describes it as a horrifying and excruciating experience. MIA Webinars and Other Educational Events, Lauren Tenney, PhD, is a psychiatric survivor and activist first involuntarily committed at age 15. Something was put in my mouth before they anaesthetised me. The brain is unexplored territory, please do not do more harm by re-classifying this. The only information needed is your name, email and comment text. Coming Out of Electroshock Therapy - The Atlantic The memory loss, the physical malaise, the nausea and headache despite medication made things worse instead of better. Agreed. If you look at the multiple roles of women in society, they are pretty much exhausted a lot of the time far more than men I suspect. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Press the button to drop ice balls into cones, then squeeze water from a bottle onto the Water Wow! surface to create color-changing play snow-cones! Stop catastrophizing the situation. It only has made things worse. SHe has suffered irreparable brain damage to her short term memory and she will never be able to live unassisted. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Her work aims to expose the institutional corruption which is a source of profit for organized psychiatry, and to abolish state sponsored human rights violations, such as murder, torture and slavery. Send me The Misunderstood Consequences of Electroconvulsive Therapy I also had no bug problems, and hardly ever heard my neighbors. People with traumatic brain injuries often go around with that goofy smile on their faces and this is an indication that something is badly wrong. But the other thing I find hard is that those who oppose ECT can be vituperative, accusing clinicians and others of deliberate attempts to harm. A Safety Plan provides a blueprint for coping when suicidal thoughts and feelings are overwhelming. Too Good to Be True: How TMS Damaged My Brain - Mad In America I submitted to it when I was a teenager and the consequences have been a lifetime of activism to fight back this dangerous procedure. High-Functioning Depression: the Symptoms and Treatments I was exaggerating, they said, Faking it. Each time I complained, they said, You think about yourself too much, you are self-absorbed. They even said Id been faking my eating disorder for attention! Formerly of Ormesby, near Middlesborough, Miss Dunn was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when she was a teenager, but believes she suffered from bi-polar disorder and depression. Certainly the Thorazine , the Halidol , and the Electric Shock delivered by force took a toll from me that I am most of the time in denial about . Mother-of-two Miss Dunn added: "I remember being taken into a room on the ward and being given a needle in my hand. ECT ruined my life. At a time the FDA is looking into downgrading the classification for this device, I am sickened by the publication of yet another Huff post piece promoting this procedure, brain injury as treatment., by a person calling many of those who posted negative comments about ECT haters, loonies, Peter Breggin groupies, later calling some pathetic, in need of help, encouraged by others who fawned over her story and disparaged those weirdos and crazies. Brilliant. The medical community completely minimized them. NOT the answer for people who are depressed. There are some who say it does, but do they really remember for sure? It was a really weird feeling. As a patient, I feel the same. Personally, I dont believe that I am cognitively impaired, although its hard to prove. By Judith Graham. A Gannett Company. I had twenty-eight and I know people had A LOT more than that. I protested the article, and the paper invited me to write an article about ECT. Please sign this petition to the FDA to stop ECT. (modern), Until we have another better treatment that works rapidly, I think there will be a place for ECT., ecently I spoke with someone who had, in the past, been given a large number of. Cunliffe was referred for ECT in 2005 amid difficulties in her marriage. Many people believe ECT has been consigned to an older, less sensitive age of mental health treatment. Oddly, though, throughout it all, and for many years after, I had no clue that the 18-or-so months of severe and rather mysterious illness I went through following shock I did not realize was at all a result of the shock. But an SWLStG spokeswoman said: "Electroconvulsive therapy is an evidence-based, NICE-approved treatment to be used under specific circumstances and can have benefits for certain patients, particularly for people with severe depression who have not responded to other forms of treatment. I have a few friends that committed suicide after receiving that violent procedure. "I was forced to have it under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act", ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------, Thousands receive electric shock treatment, Electric shock therapy 'not up to scratch', Friends Against Psychiatry: Ban Shock (US), ECT, its uses and effects, Salford Community Health Council, Pat Butterfield, founder of ECT Anonymous. The most common are short-term to permanent memory loss and other cognitive difficulties, headaches, toothache and muscle aches, nausea, cardiac arrhythmias, and similar cardiovascular problems. I could have done without that. I was originally diagnosed with major depression when I was twelve years old and immediately began treatment following my diagnosis. Made up of mental health professionals, researchers, ECT recipients and carers, the group is calling for an inquiry into the practice of ECT along the lines of the recent Cumberlege report into pelvic meshes, which found lives had been ruined because officials failed to hear the concerns of women too often dismissing worries and complaints as womens problems and exposing failures in the health system. It seems to look through you. As noted above, my sense, based on my research, is that MKULTRA-style mind control abuses derive from three main sources: 1) Satanic Ritual Abuse, or SRA (probably synonymous with Jewish Ritual Abuse), which has been practiced by elite families within the context of secretive cults for millennia and 2) the findings of British, American, and Nazi psychiatrists since the late 1880's, and 3 . Our ConnECT group boasts many positive experiences with ECT. This did not cure him, but in fact made him less able to control his behavior because of the brain damage from the electric current through his brain., I had a family member receive this treatment, and it almost killed them and severely lowered their quality of life. My father, before he passed away, had told me about this new thing, Windows. Subscription is just 4.99 a month, and all income from subscriptions goes to Big Issue North Trust and helps vendors in the North of England to make positive changes to their lives. Trintellix and Restless Legs - Antidepressants - CrazyBoards.org Part IX: NWO 'Slavemasters' & Our 'Absolute Slavery' Via Intel Ops Psychiatric shock therapy may face fresh restrictions - STAT Ive spoken to many hundreds of survivors of electroshock who say its torture, not safe and effective treatment. "It robbed me of my memories. He passed while I was still very confused following shock. I do not remember the geographic layout of Seattle my home town. Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. Life was worth living. Because my depression seemed untreatable with drug therapy, the doctor suggested ECTs. Yes they say it does rewire the brain but when I think of how it is done and what I allowed them to do , it is disturbing.Allowing electricity to pass through my brain !! Is electroconvulsive therapy ever right for children? As with many medical treatments, we need more research to help us better understand how it works but most people who have ECT see an improvement in their symptoms. Hi Folks, After a bit of red tape mix-up, my comment is finally up there and visible. Family Newsletter Now he asks me how i'm doing maybe once a week if that, and if i talk about my day too much i'm overstimulating him. I thank you for a response. Electroconvulsive Treatment (ECT) - Side effects of having ECT - Healthtalk Its easy to blame ECT for difficulties that might have happened anyway. Does Social Media Have a Negative Impact on Body Image? The disparity between how and where ECT treatment is administered is an area author and clinical psychologist Craig Newnes has been researching for decades. This is understandable: as a doctor, you want your patient to have the best treatment for their condition, and finding the words to describe ECT and its adverse effects is hard. I did not gain relief of my depression as a result of the ect., I have received ECT and personally know the damage they can do and they are definitely NOT low risk!, ECT is, by its very nature, contra- indicated for ANY diagnosis for which it is currently perscribed. Brains injury is not a treatment. ECT and Me - Bring Change to Mind It is done to the most vulnerable like seniors in large numbers in most of the Western countries. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. people seem to be oblivious to the fact that those who speak out have a noble cause and a humanistic agenda- to protect people from being brain injured, disabled, and driven to suicide bc of their losses, trauma, and despair. ect ruined my life - trenzy.ae Then she called me and cussed me out for 2 days on how I ruined her life because, we had her tubes tied in 1980 because her dr said that C section shouldn't have more than 2 at the max . According to brain stimulation experts from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, ECT sessions improve depression in 70 to 90 percent of patients, a. Short to Medium Term Commitment When receiving treatment, you generally have to show up to your treatment provider 5 times a week for 6 weeks. There are some really good ones. He told me I should teach myself to use a mouse. Being upfront about the downsides builds trust. One manufacturer, Somatics, immediately added "permanent brain damage" to the list of risks from the treatment. I suspect her telling the staff how she hated the F***ing hospital is the reason she got ECT for her wonderful treatment. Its a crime and someday hopefully the people mandating this for others as a treatment will be prosecuted and put in jail. They look very high end. He was instrumental in having that place closed down in 1992. During my last course, I experienced this twice-weekly for seven weeks. What is the difference between solitude and isolation? It took away four years of my life that I will never regain, while nearly costing it! This page was generated at 02:48 AM. I have had courses over the years to treat psychotic depression, initially when I was pregnant with my first child, and most recently three years ago. They spread fear and hurt, and it doesnt help anyone. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, psychotherapy, social support groups, stressmanagement, and often medication play a critical role in maintaining health after ECT. Still, there are some things you should consider before treatment. They have told me they just feel robotic toward life., 15 High Voltage Electro Shock Treatments were forced on me as a teenager. Another lingering misconception is ECT will change your personality. Very rarely, people may experience prolonged seizures. Our conversation helped . Its humiliating to walk into a shop and tip your money out and say: Just take how much money you need, because I dont know how much to give you.. After ECT, i feel that my personality was wiped out. It is also functioning in everyday life that is effected. ECT magnified the worst characteristics of my dad and pretty much destroyed the family my parents divorced a few years after the ECT because of how bad things got with my dad. I made friends quickly, and enjoyed the class so much that I signed up for the next one. Everything you learnt and knew is no longer there. In August, I applied for Emerson Colleges Adult Degree Program. It was just down the block from her parents house, and close to a friends. No one ever talked to me about those four root causes, just the symptoms. So I got on all kind of psych drugs that made it hard to work and then I started losing jobs and failing out of grad school. I wasnt even depressed. One, they know; two, they dont care; three; it pays for their lifestyle. Its goal is to cause damage and make you forget. The ECT method is also condemned because it has multiple side effects. Do we eliminate heart surgery because some have a second heart attack? She is a person who has made great contributions to supporting the mental health systems change in our area. "ECT Saved My Life But Destroyed My Memory" - HealthCentral No. I know several people who were never the same after this treatment. Season 1. Now 27 years old, Im scared about my future as its been over 5 years and Im still left with severe disabilities from it. No surprise there. So nice to wax eloquent on something you have never endured. These NUMB and insensitive In 2006-2007 i had electroconvulsive therapy (ect). In the first week of January, on my 40th birthday, the confusion left me. After explaining to Mr. Ryan my inability to input all of the comments we received through the petition, and howdocuments from my own comments were not successfully uploaded, he agreed to accept these documents in print form. Psychiatrists say it saves lives, but I would say it is more likely to push you towards suicide. (The Hersh Foundation will be announcing an exciting partnership with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in May; stay tuned.) She took her own life at the age of 39. Gotta make sure they are getting wise counsel from their peers cause they can ruin your life. When nothing could cure my depression, shock therapy saved my life - CBC We just want equality, and I dont care whether [ECT has] helped people, she says. Views about ECT are polarised. I had over 70 of these horrible treatments within a two year span. I think his role was called Monitor. I dressed up as him and everything, I really believed I was him and became very religious. Maybe this type of battle must always be fought certainly for the foreseeable future . Dr John Read, of the University of East London said there was "no place" for ECT in evidence-based medicine due to risks of brain damage. I bet the comments look almost exactly the same this year. And the other one did five or six treatments a week. It's used for treating depression, migraine, and OCD, among other conditions.. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC, Dr. Ahmad Raza speaks at an event for ETC education. The doctors who prescribed it were largely earnest and well-intended, but the consequences were destructive. I havent been able to work, and my husband has been responsible for almost everything in our household including the care for my daughter. Therefore is not possible solidarity victims. Or, alternatively, they are just that stupid they cannot see the truth or comprehend the science. Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust had a slightly higher number of ECT cases per head of population than the national average. At the last ECT treatment given, the nurse told me there was no reason to continue the ECT treatments because they were not working and were causing more harm than good.. She did not understand why the psychiatrist insisted on continuing ECT treatments and said they were nothing but torture. Had neuro testing 6 months after ect and my iq dropped 50 points, was a former honor student in high school. (I love my dog dearly but my health would be just as important). These are people who found ECT worth the risk, and their lives have flourished with good medical treatment and continued care. I had memory problems, trouble sleeping. I feel like i ruined my girlfriends life - Tiny Buddha My schedule is full. It is a sad thing to see, and to witness happening. Engaging with social media can affect users appearance satisfaction. ECT has no relevance to treatment-resistance, since this term has no real meaning, but rather, it is given when the patient is a nuisance to the institution. As if I am dead! He visited facilities and demanded to speak directly to patients, knowing that only patients would give him accurate information about the state of human rights at these places. It did break my depression, but the brain fog and long term memory loss wasnt worth it., Im signing because my husband, family and I was lied to; told the memory loss was temporary. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. It can be done minus. Both had spoken out strongly against the ECT. ECT was first used on a human patient in Italy in 1938, after preliminary experiments in dogs and pigs. Deciding whether to have ECT - Mind And treatment resistant blames the patient, not the treatment that has failed them., Am a victim of over 60 ECTs during a period of 3 years missing 4 years of my life, I dont appreciate that. I had not been known to be a chronic complainer. Turn any day into Fair Day! Does electroconvulsive therapy cause brain damage: An update Is climate change killing Australian wine? In a third of cases ECT is given without consent. It harms more people that just the victim of the Intracranial burn scar., Electric shocks have a huge impact on peoples brain functioning and memory, and can sometimes end in death, my mother lost alit if memory and appeared like a zombie after her shocks, unable to motivate herself or remember things..and it doesnt take long before the depression comes back full force., I received ect 3 times a week for 4-5 weeks in 1995. The paper suggests the placebo effect may explain why some patients say they find ECT helpful. When she was 17, in 1985, Miss Dunn was taken to the now-demolished St Luke's Hospital in Middlesborough and underwent ECT in hope that it would improve her condition. He did admit to some memory loss but it wasn't too severe. Dont give up. You wake up, a bit confused, and when that settles, youre done.