Electroconvulsive therapy is a type of medical treatment which is used to treat patients with severe depression or bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Depression is a medical condition that will affect the way an individual feels and the way he responds to certain conditions or events. Untreated depression can create serious problems for an individual. It may lead to unnecessary disability, social problems, poor quality of life, and an urge to commit suicide.
Nowadays depression is very common among individuals. It’s essential to treat clinical depression in the initial stage. There are some cases when the proper medications and therapy fail to minimize the symptoms of depression. In that case, Electroconvulsive therapy is the best option to treat clinical depression. You should now check out psychiatrist near me for depression and anxiety.
While it was one of the most controversial therapies in the past. It considered one of the effective therapy to treat clinical depression and it is recommended by many prominent Medical Associations.
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What is Electroconvulsive Therapy?
Electroconvulsive therapy is a type of medical treatment which is use to treat patients with severe depression or bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The treatment initiated by giving general anesthesia to the patient. Then a low-intensity electric shock is passed through the scalp to trigger a seizure. The whole process is conducted under trained medical professionals.
Effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy?
Multiple research shows that electroconvulsive therapy shows positive results in minimizing major depression symptoms. There is some clinical evidence that indicates that the patient with severe depression symptoms shows a significant amount of recovery with the help of electroconvulsive therapy.
This therapy is not only used to treat depression but it is also used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Generally, it is used in the case when a patient needs rapid treatment. When the medication and psychotherapy are not enough.
This Therapy is one of the effective methods and it is approved by many associations like the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Medical Association.
Electroconvulsive therapy may also be necessary in some cases of people with disability. Thus, disabled participants’ NDIS funds may cover the expense of this procedure.
How does Electroconvulsive Therapy work?
The treatment starts by giving the patient general anesthesia to put him to sleep.
In the next step, electrodes are placed into his scalp. After placing the electrodes a relatively low-intensity current is passed through his body.
The current will give him a seizure. Before the start of the treatment, a muscle relaxant was given to the patient. It will work in a way to relax the muscle during the seizures and we can observe there is a very little moment in the hands and feet. Electroconvulsive therapy is usually administered 3 times a week between two weeks to one-month duration.
Benefits of ECT
Multiple benefits of electroconvulsive therapy for patients who are suffering from severe depression.
- It helps in treating the severe form of depression in which patients feel detached from reality and feel to commit suicide.
- It also helps in treating some hyperactive behavior like mania or bipolar disorder.
- ECT also effective in treating schizophrenia.
- It is considered the last hope when a patient is not recovered with medication and psychotherapy treatment.
Final Thoughts
Electroconvulsive therapy is an effective way to treat symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. You can get more information at Bipolar disorder specialists ohio cleveland. And now it has become a very safe method of treatment for any individual suffering from depression and it is approved by the American medical association, the American psychiatric association, and the national institute of mental health. While it is considered an effective treatment option with medication and psychotherapy there are multiple risk factors associated with it like memory loss confusion and high blood pressure.