Electroconvulsive Therapy and Bipolar Disorder – Does It Work?
When most of us think of electroshock therapy, a primitive mental health system on par with the imagery in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest comes to mind. Today, ECT doesn’t involve sticking a couple of electrodes on the sides of your head and turning a huge switch to the on position, as is commonly envisioned by the average person.
The basic principle behind electroconvulsive therapy involves triggering many brain seizures about three times a week for a few months. Eighty percent of those treated by these methods report immediate relief of bipolar or depressive symptoms.
What mainstream medical research does not tell you is that almost all of those who recover will relapse, and many suffer memory problems later in life.
Let us think about this logically. Does it make sense that randomly shocking the brain would solve your health problems? After all, it is not as if doctors know the exact part of the brain that they’re trying to fix. It is the equivalent of using a screwdriver to perform open heart surgery, instead of a scalpel.
Many of those who try electroconvulsive therapy and have bipolar disorder use it as a last resort. For these people, anti depressants have had no effect, and their symptoms are so severe that they require immediate relief. Since ECT is still considered dangerous in some quarters, one must precede with caution before deciding to accept such a treatment.
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