Tag: Mental 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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How Can I Have It All And Still Be Unhappy?

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I have heard it many times before, if only in my mind. What do YOU have to complain about? You have all one can ask for, and more, yet you are still feeling down at times.

How is that possible?

Yes, in my past, I had made some rather defining life choices, which led me to live in a country with almost constant sunshine all year round. That alone should keep a smile on my face constantly, if nothing else.

And then as I compare my life situation with people who live in parts of the world where there is no running water, where there is no sanitation or where there is not enough fresh food, I have to feel more blessed again.

So where is this underlying un-satisfaction coming from?

The unhappiness comes from deep down inside, where I know that there is more to me than what I’m currently exhibiting. For so long I have been fed the phrase ‘unlimited potential’ that I later started to believe it. And then the unfulfilled feelings came in.

When I developed the so called ‘mental illness’ in the later years and by being repeatedly told how serious it was, it started to affect me and eventually I started to believe it.

I started to look for and see evidence of my disabilities in my every day life. It seemed that I am not as capable as other people around me. I would see others and think to myself: I wish I was that confident. I wish I was such a good communicator. I wish it was so easy to make friends for me. I wish I had more to say. I wish I had such a good memory. I wish I could I wish I could… just be myself and be accepted.

Then I realized something important. The problem is not so much with wanting to be better than I perceive of myself. The main issue lied in the fact, that I have been craving other people’s acceptance, whereas not accepting myself fully the way I am!

As they say: ‘You can’t give of what you do not have first.‘

So on that note, here goes a fresh affirmation, to uplift my (and your if you like) self and to find the strength to be who I am, no matter what:

“I am who I am and that is good enough. I am good the way I am. There is more to me than I currently experience, and that is ok. I don’t need to be anyone different to be myself. I am full of light and I am loved. Events are unfolding according to universal principles, which I am part of. I know all is well and I am looked after on all levels. In every moment I get what I need for my Well-being and joy. All comes at the right time. I allow experiences to fill me up. My destiny is fluid and changeable. There is nowhere to go, nothing to achieve. Life flows.”