Tag: health

Shock therapy

ECT aka Shock treatment – Barbaric or Helpful?

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Scrolling through Facebook last night I came across a blog post by Dr. Caroline Leaf, specializing in Neuropsychology, who in her blog wrote about ECT treatments for mental illnesses. Now, Dr. Leaf’s blog post was not too long to get the full story, but in essence I felt there is rather strong disagreement with the general use of Electro-Convulsive Therapy.

Please know, that I do love and appreciate the work on the neuroplasticity of the human brain of Dr. Caroline Leaf and all of her wisdom.

As an advocate for a broader mental health awareness, and also someone, who experienced ECT several times on my own brain (the latest one in Jan 2017), here is my viewpoint on this controversial subject:

My experience with Electro Shocks

Despite the fact, that the ‘ECT treatment’ I received was always administered without my, or my family’s consent while I was unwell, now I would say it had its place. Upon reflection on it, if it was not for the ECT’s (given to me during several different hospital admissions and only after all other efforts using medication failed) there was a high chance that I may have not recovered so quickly from what was very debilitating and hard to manage condition.

The shock treatment has had for a very long time, a very bad reputation. To me that is mainly due to its portraying in the media for its past administration without the use of anesthetics and relaxants. That could be the very scary bit, that nobody would like to experience. However, nowadays it is given with full body anesthetic and relaxants injected into the bloodstream of the ‘poor’ patient. One goes to sleep long before the electrodes touch the head and wakes up afterwards without any pain. Just like after other successful operation.

So the barbaric associations that this ‘treatment’ has in the society is a little bit unfair. This is also due to the “One fly over the Cuckoo’s nest” movie, that had its place in showing the bad aspects of mental institutions back in the day. Nowadays, there are still surely not a place one likes to be held in, however, it all comes down to having good doctors and nurses, who make the big difference in any hospital environment.

Side Effects of ECT

While ‘my’ first ECT had a significant effect on memory loss and some other cognitive functioning, which affected my work abilities and my confidence, I am now able to express gratitude and accept this as one of the more effective methods of the mental health industry. Overall I had several instances when it was the last resort used by the treatment team and it was actually the one thing that really worked.

So unless you had ECT on yourself, please do not spread more fear and misunderstanding about it. There is greater need for more clarity and awareness though. Thank you for reading my thoughts on this. And if you or someone you know experienced ECT personally, I would love to read your thoughts in the comment box below.

Joy and clarity

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Who Defines Your Future?

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Some moments in time we will feel up on the clouds and some other moments, perhaps right after the first moments, we might feel like the clouds don’t have the proverbial silver lining.

What defines each situation that we encounter on a daily basis? From my experience and knowledge acquired, I can say that each and every situation is not defined by the obvious components itself. It’s not what happens to us, yet it’s our reaction to it.

Yes, what happens is one part of the story. That’s the beginning. And then, what we do about it and how we respond is the main precursor in each scenario.

Now, what defines our response reaches deeper under our skin. Our response in each situation is governed by our personal beliefs, our values and our thoughts about the meaning of each situation.

Let’s presume that we both have been presented with a very similar course of events. Let’s say that we are both faced with some serious illness.

Now, you might be brought up in a different belief system regarding health and treatment of illness, than I. And while we both might believe in the healing power of human body to some extend, one of us might rely on its ability to heal utterly and without assistance, while the other person would choose a medical intervention. Our values, which are the factors that drive our decision-making, could also be different.

What you and I believe about medical intervention in response to the illness could be so vastly different, that the outcome of the situation we both have been facing might also be totally unrelated.

The reason why I’m stating this example is to show that our destiny is not etched in stone. There is a saying that ‘We are the masters of our destiny’. I would agree with this statement to a larger extend.

What happens to us is one thing. Maybe there is not much we can do about getting ill from time to time. Let’s assume that it’s so. However, what we do about it, when we are presented with the problem, is our choice.

Now, let me say, that I consider each side of the decision valid. Whether one person chooses medical treatment and the other person chooses natural treatment of illness, there is no judgement. Whether we would see their choice as right or wrong is only a matter of opinion. They however, have a right to make a choice based on their own values and beliefs.

Who says what experience in life is more valid? Who is the judge of that?

We are all here now and we will all die at some point in time. That’s the only certainty. So what we are choosing in life, as it progresses, is shaping our experience of now and the future.

And what would our individual life be worth, if it was not for our diverse experiences?