What is electroconvulsive therapy?

Electroconvulsive therapy is a type of psychiatric therapy that includes controlled introduction of electric currents into the brain to induce cramps that change the patient's brain chemistry. This treatment is used primarily in the treatment of depression, although it was also used to treat patients with schizophrenia and mania. Many people are surprised to find that electroconvulsive therapy is still in extensive use around the world, because the procedure is very controversial in many regions. Early electroconvulsive therapy included a large amount of electricity and imperfect understanding of brain and depression chemistry. Patients could experience serious side effects of electroconvulsive therapy, including memory, seizure and death loss. Psychiatric patients were also rarely consulted on therapies used to treat avids of electroconvulsive procedures lacked informed consent, which is now considered a key requirement for all medical procedures and treatment. Modern electroconvulsive therapy is performed by a largeEven differently from early procedures and informed consent is a critical part of the procedure, while the patient plays an active role in decision -making on treatment and decided to decide on electroconvulsive therapy rather than forced to undergo the procedure.

In electroconvulsive therapy, the patient is anesthetic and gives muscle relaxants. The electrodes are located on the skull and the specialized machine is used to provide targeted electric shocks. The patient does not experience convulsions because he is anesthetic and dazed, but brain activity is identical to the body activity in full convulsions and releases a flood of neurotransmitters. Patients may undergo a dozen sessions at different intervals during treatment.

psychiatrists generally recommend only electroconvulsive therapy to patients who have not experienced success with other methods of treatment. One of the main risks of the procedure is to continue the loss and confusion of memory, which can be temporary or permanent.The chemistry of each brain is slightly different and there is no way to predict, how the patient will respond, although steps can be taken to make the procedure as safe as possible.

Because of the stigma associated with this therapy, patients are sometimes ashamed to discuss with friends and family and can express deep doubts in the recommendation of therapy. Patients are advised to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the psychiatrists, and consider requesting a second opinion from an informed psychiatrist who can provide further information.