Monday, April 8, 2013
Electroconvulsive Therapy
I believe that we should completely stop giving electroconvulsive therapy. Its not because I think it's wrong to give someone an electric shock, because I don't think it's wrong since they are under anesthesia. I think this way because we don't know enough about the treatment. It's true that we have already been doing it for over 50 years, but do we truly know what we are doing? Scientists still are not sure why the treatment works. Yes, the treatment works, but it only work for a little while. Four out of every 10 patients treated with ECT, relapse into depression within six months of the treatment. This treatment is better than not having any treatment at all, but there are many other treatment options. We should stop ECT until we know more about the treatment, how to perform it, and its effects.
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I agree that it is a bit extreme. However, this is not a first option for people. As we learned it, this is a last resort option when other treatments, like anti-depression drugs, are not effective. If this helps, and the patient agrees to it, I say YOLO. But I do think scientists need to find why it works to make it seem more humane.
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