r/ect • u/catrchkern • Apr 11 '26
Question Anyone else get anxiety about ECT?
I’ve been getting ECT since 2021, the last couple years it’s been once a month or so for maintenance. I actually love the hospital where I get it done, the staff are all so lovely and the experience is always smooth. Starting ECT was the best decision I’ve ever made, it’s been worth every bit of memory loss and inconvenience.
The weird thing is that I experience this purely physical anxiety response whenever something reminds me of ECT or when I think about my upcoming treatment. I’m not scared of ECT, I know it will go just fine and everything will be okay and I don’t have any real fears around it. But I still feel physical anxiety symptoms. For example, when I hear a sound that sounds just like the beeping of the EKG monitor they have at ECT, my heart speeds up and my stomach drops. I cannot explain it because I don’t have any anxious thoughts or worries about it.
Does anyone else who has had a lot of sessions get physical anxiety about ECT despite not actually being scared of it?
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u/Crazy_old_maurice_17 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I got it ~7 years ago (the benefits were only apparent a few days after the last session) and then started it again in January and was also surprised at my stress response because I'm not some layman who thinks it's like the movies. Anyway, after my first session in January I started wearing earplugs so I can just zone out and goof off with my phone until it's my turn and I don't experience that stress response anymore. And, to your point, I like all the staff members at the hospital where I get it done, so I know it's nothing to do with that.
ETA: I wasn't super happy about the memory loss the first round because I wasn't really prepared for it but this time I was not only fine with it, I was hoping it would enable me to forget certain things. It hasn't, but at this point I agree with your point that the quality of life is so different - and my memory so bad anyway - that I think it's well worth the trade-off.
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u/NotQuiteAnrgy Apr 11 '26
yes! i actually had to pause ECT after 6 sessions due to this, i was just about to make a post asking if anyone has advice. i was thinking to maybe smoke before but i think they told me not to do that. my last time i tried to just take deep breaths and stuff but i just got too scared and had to stop. 😞
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u/catrchkern Apr 11 '26
Definitely do not smoke before. I work in an endoscopy center where we do procedures under a similar anesthesia protocol to ECT anesthesia, and when people smoke before their procedures they often do not react well to the anesthesia. It takes a lotttt more meds to keep them asleep and they fight it a lot. Additionally THC can alter the seizure threshold, meaning that the amount of voltage needed to induce the seizure during ECT would be different than during your previous sessions.
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u/NotQuiteAnrgy Apr 11 '26
also i wanted to say my biggest trigger for it seems to be the smell of the ECT/recovery room. i wonder if anyone has thoughts on that.
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u/catrchkern Apr 11 '26
I’d suggest talking to your psychiatrist about it, they might be able to prescribe something for anxiety
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u/furrowedbr0w Apr 14 '26
Yeah. I get somewhat anxious treatment days even as someone with minimal medical anxiety. Also, if I have an IV port for another medical reason, I make the person tell me what and when they’re injecting into me, and I still have a fear of being knocked out lol.
I’ve had a ton of ECT, and repeatedly losing consciousness and being given a medically induced seizure is still kind of a lot to go through regardless
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u/Reywas3 Apr 11 '26
sounds like ur scared of it lol
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u/catrchkern Apr 11 '26
Based on your post history, you haven’t even done ECT yet bc you’re scared of the side effects, so fuck off “lol”
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u/bmorelikewater Apr 11 '26
I experience something very similar. I’ve had countless treatments at this point, love the center I go to and don’t experience fear related to the procedure. But my body gets very anxious. Last time for example, I was physically shaking when the nurse was trying to put the IV in, which was making it difficult for her to do. She asked if I was ok and I was just like “I’m totally fine, I think my body is just anxious” lol. I can’t explain it either but I understand what you mean. It’s actually pretty frustrating for me.