ECT, continued
Jul 12 2007 | Comments 2
Marissa points us to a good conversation going on over at Furious Seasons on the subject of ECT. I’m one of those people who had a terrible experience with it, but it is hard to advocate for an outright ban if it helps some people. I know a woman who would have died without it, but she’s in the minority. Informed consent is the key.
On the subject of forced ECT, go to Mind Freedom to see the concluding sage of poor Simone D., a woman at Creedmor who is being forced, via court order, to undergo more treatments despite her desire to stop. It’s completely appalling.
liz | 10:56 AM | Uncategorized
I’m not sure how I feel about ECT. I had 7 treatments and nothing happened and I know a least one person who was brought out of a life threatening depression, she forgot how to speak Spanish, which is kind of ironic given the Simone D.story, but ECT may have saved her life.
No I take issue with forced treatment always being bad. I have had treatments imposed on me which helped my recovery. Benign things like stopping bed seeking to spending time in side rooms (unpadded cells). I just think it is a complex issue.
People who don’t want to ban ECT for the extreme case-patient , fail to see the extreme patient was created by psychiatry in the first place, so it’s a nonsense arguement.
People who are severly depressed could take illegal drugs such as opium or marijuana to feel better, or do many other things.
There is no justification for purposeful brain damage. People can and do recover from ECT, but the treatment is plain stupid.
Just like cutting off the patients toes to cure drapetomania. If the ECT damage was visible like cutting off toes it would be banned.
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