After this a muscle relaxant is given to the patient. Oxygen is administered
and an electric current is applied through electrodes. The patient undergoing
the ECT does not feel the electric current, and the only reaction noticeable is
the patients toes curling (Mental Illness Assessment and Treatment p.78). The
placing of electrodes is still a matter of ongoing research. In unilateral
treatment the electrodes are placed two or three inches apart on the same side
of the head. The side that is chosen is the same side as the dominant hand. This
method is said to reduce short term memory loss and confusion, another method of
ECT is placing the electrodes over both temples. This method is proved to work
better than unilateral treatment(Mental Illness Assessment and Treatment p.79).
Electroshock therapy consists of a series of treatments, a patient is usually
scheduled for two to three times a week for six to twelve treatments of
depression. The treatment tine for schizophrenia is usually twenty-five to
thirty treatment. The entire ECT process takes anywhere from twenty to forty
minutes from start to finish (Mental Illness Assessment and Treatment p.79).
Even though ECT predominantly effective, there are many risks involved including
drowsiness and confusion for about an hour. Short-term memory loss will occur,
but there memory will come back to them in tine.
Another risk of ECT is the patient’s heat is affected by the seizures and the
drugs, i.e. muscle relaxants, anesthesia, and barbiturates. Side effects such as
headaches, speech loss, nausea, muscle soreness, and skin burns ( around the
electrode sights). These sides effects go away within a few hours, with
acceptation of speech loss coordination which might take up to six months to
recover(Mental Illness Assessment and Treatment p.79). Depression is a disorder
that affects millions of people everyday, some of these people have suicidal
urges and need help desperately. They could take antidepressant drugs, but these
become addictive and have sides effects such as nausea, vomiting, digestive
problems, drowsiness, damage to hearing and sight, also it could lead to
stronger depression. These anti-depressant drugs are only temporary relief.
These medications’ can also have long term damages too, but only five percent of
users reported this (Jack Mendelson, MD p.25). Schizophrenic victims, contrary
to popular belief, are highly intelligent, but tend to see life as a collage of
disassociated and often frightening impressions. These people also have trouble
coping with the outside world, and are usually locked away in hospitals for life
on strong prescription of medications. These do not solve their problems,
whereas electroshock therapy can solve their problems for life with side-effects
lasting only six months at the most amount of time. ECT can solve both these
clinical conditions permanently, but there are still those in society that look
down upon ECT because of past rumors, and their lack of up-to-date knowledge of
this subject.
Doctors seem to use ECT as a last resort after contaminating patients’
bodies with drugs. Electroshock therapy is not only a good idea, but in some
cases a necessity. For example if there is a person going through
manic-depression this can be a very helpful cure. Especially if this person may
have suicidal tendencies. It also helps many individuals who can not tolerate
the standard medications prescribed for mental illness. (Dabiri USA Today). A
lot of medications used for depression and schizophrenia such as prozac have
terrible side effects and are being considered to be taken off the
pharmaceutical market. Prozac was first used in the 1930’s in Italy and is still
used, while temporary drugs(prozac, ritalin) will eventually reach a downfall.
The trend of depression has risen greatly in the 90’s and some people really do
need such treatments as ECT to help. Electroshock therapy is not a popular
practice in the mental illness treatment field. Many people still believe that
it is barbaric and does not deserve a place in today’s society. People still
have dark and gory images of ECT from such books as One Flew Over the Cuckoos
Nest, where ECT was graphically portrayed as a grisly machine that enhanced
dementia. This is not necessarily true though, ECT is more safe and effective
than alternative drugs used to treat these symptoms can become addictive and
sometimes lethal, oh yes lethal! Maybe some day people will see electroshock
therapy not as a danger, but as a productive way to rid mental illness. ECT may
seem risky and dangerous at the time, but with science and technological
advances improving daily, this could be a miracle cure for widespread mental
illness that affects many different people all over the world.
Words: 2186
