The Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression

Mood Disorders and the Impact of Social Media

Mood disorders are growing more widespread in the social media generation. Individuals are constantly abused on social media for the way they look or for their talents. People are obliged to experience some level of depression in such a negative atmosphere. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately sixteen million people and three million adolescents in the United States have had a depressive episode at some point in their life (major depression among adults, 2017). Most people can overcome these spells of depression with the help of various psychotherapy treatments. One of these therapies is electroconvulsive therapy, or better known as ECT (Taylor & Francis, 2016). Despite causing such a public uproar, through the years, ECT has now improved in providing a safe treatment and reliable form of psychotherapy for many psychiatrists.

The Evolution of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

ECT was not always considered to be a useful psychotherapy method. According to Tomasz Cyrzyk, the use of ECT started about 79 years ago. At first, ECT was not entirely understood by the public and psychiatric researchers. Due to this sheer ignorance in the past, there are still groups of people who oppose the use of ECT as a treatment. In 1960, ECT was performed in the general ward of psychiatric hospitals, where patients used to be tied to their beds, without being administered anesthesia or muscles relaxers. Also, patients were not educated or well informed about the purpose and necessities of the treatment. As a result, many patients felt abused and punished due to the bones and muscle injuries. ECT was an unsafe and cruel form of treatment. In 1975, a movie named “Flew Over Cukoo’s Nest” supported and strengthened the misconceptions people had about ECT. The release of this film and patient experiences made ECT extremely unpopular among the general public (April 2013, p.24).

Improved Administration of ECT

Changes and improvements in ECT administration “now make it a treatment of choice for about 100,000 to 150,000 people each year” (Shillier, 2008. P.31). ECT is defined as “the induction of grand mal seizure through the application of electrical current to the brain” (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). In previous years, ECT was administered without the using any form of anesthesia. Patients were wide awake and aware of the electrical shocks being administered throughout their bodies. But in modern times, psychiatrists make sure to involve some form of anesthesia before conducting any the treatment. Many hospitals will have patients meet with the anesthesiologist, cardiologists, and other experts to be examined before the ECT treatments (ANNA). These precautions help lower any harmful effects of the procedure. Also, through the help of anesthesia, the patients can experience the benefits of ECT without having to endure muscle and joint pains later on. Anesthesia works to relax the patient’s tissues to allow psychiatrists to administer the treatment more efficiently (Shiller). The usage of such drugs and precautions made ECT safe and reliable for patients and psychiatrists.

Benefits of ECT as a Treatment

Through continuous research, psychiatrists and researchers can discover even more benefits of ECT as a treatment. In 2016, the Benveniste and research associates found out that ECT caused remodeling of specific brain structures and the development and growth of neurons (Benveniste). Not only has ECT become successful in treating depression and other various disorders, but it has also helped improve cognitive abilities in many individuals. In another study conducted by Bartkowska-Sniatkowska and associates, it was concluded that post ECT treatment, verbal fluency, and RAVLT were significantly improved than before ECT administration. It showed that ECT “exerts a long-term favorable influence on some cognitive functions” (XX). Treatment through ECT has saved people from succumbing to drastic measures such as suicide and paralysis due to severe depression (Reddy). These researchers show that ECT has numerous benefits to helping patients, besides curing depression.

Possible Side Effects of ECT

Even though ECT seems to have countless benefits, there are still many adverse side effects associated with this form of therapy. Common side effects include memory loss, such as retrograde and antegrade amnesia, and confusion. These results will only last a short period and will resolve themselves within a couple of hours to months after ECT is completed. But there are also some rare side effects as well, such as death due to cardiovascular complications, and prolonged seizure durations. The prolonged seizures are usually treatable with anesthetics and benzodiazepine. And the deaths would only occur two out of a hundred thousand ECT administrations. This statistic is incredibly insignificant compared to the success rate that the treatment has. There are also some minor side effects such as a headache, muscle soreness, nausea, and vomiting. But these occur for a short amount of time immediately after the ECT procedure. Nausea and vomiting do not happen frequently, but the headaches and muscle soreness are frequent and common. Muscle soreness is due to the muscle relaxants (XX). These are less severe side effects and insignificant to the benefits that the ECT treatments. Although this therapy may have some side effects, the treatment is advantageous. There will always be some adverse effects related to any procedure.

The Growing Popularity of ECT as a Treatment

Electroconvulsive treatment is becoming increasingly popular as time and technology move forward. Researchers, psychiatrists, and patients are beginning to favor the use of ECT as a treatment as they uncover more benefits through experiments. It is essential for researchers to continue their research and examinations about how ECT and other forms of therapies affect the treatment of disorders and their success rate. It also helps choose the right procedures for the type of illness and patient. Psychiatrists will be able to administer the most effective treatment to quickly resolve the disorder. In depression, especially drug-resistant depression, electroconvulsive treatment seems to be the most efficient type of therapy. It is successful and provides a multitude of benefits. With modern times, it has also become safer and more preferred.

References

Shiller, J. (november, 2008). ECT: A method to lift depression. 30-34. Retrieved from

www.rnweb.com.

Townsend, M. C., & Morgan, K. I. (2017). Essentials of psychiatric mental health nursing:

concepts of care in evidence-based practice (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.

Jorgensen, A., Magnusson, P., Hanson, L., Kirkegaard, T., Benveniste, H., Lee, H., Svarer, C.,

Mikkelsen, J., Fink-Jensen, A., Knudsen, G., Paulson, O., Bolwig, T. and Jorgensen, M. (2015). Regional brain volumes, diffusivity, and metabolite changes after electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 133(2), pp.154-164.

Cyrzyk, T. (2013). Electroconvulsive therapy: why it is still controversial. Mental Health

Practice, 16(7), pp.22-27.

Bodnar, A., Krzywotulski, M., Lewandowska, A., Chlopocka-Wozniak, M., Bartkowska-

Sniatkowska, A., Michalak, M. and Rybakowski, J. (2017). Electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive functions in treatment-resistant depression.