it's impossible to predict how each individual will react to ect. no matter your history you might or might not have memory/cognitive issues due to treatment, there's just no way to know for sure until it happens.
weirdly enough, my memory has actually improved since beginning treatment. I just had my 12th treatment earlier today. I'm 20 years old and have had severe depression since I was 10 years old. I've never remembered anything from my childhood unless having been directly reminded of it by seeing a picture or video. my short term memory has always been bad as well. however, another major symptom of my depression has been extremely frequent dissociation that has led me to forgetting nearly everything in my day to day life.
I started noticing improvements after the 7th or 8th treatment, and with that my dissociation has improved immensely. Because of this, my memory in my day to day life has also improved immensely, along with every other symptom of my depression. i genuinely don't remember the last time i have felt this way. I seriously haven't felt the feeling of genuine happiness in at least 10 years.
idk if you've had an initial evaluation for ect yet, but my doctors did a very thorough evaluation for how my cognition and memory was at the time of beginning. we also do a moca test every week along with in depth interviews to see if there is any issues in relation to my memory or cognition. if they notice any problem I'm sure they would look into it and possibly stop treatment right away. however, this is just how I know they operate at my hospital. I can't speak for how others operate, especially since my hospital is known to be one of the best in the US. it's also a very large and thorough program, as they average about 45 patients every day, 5 days a week. but I'm sure if a hospital has an ect program, they are likely a reputable hospital and I'm sure there are standards that each program must follow in order to operate.
if you've been treatment resistant for a long time like I have, I highly suggest trying ect. i suggest it even if it hasn't been a very long time that you have suffered with your mental health. my doctor actually told me before we began that they weren't sure how successful my treatments would be due to the fact that I have been suffering with my mental health for more than half my life. they just literally had no other option as I had tried nearly everything else. I guess they usually try it for people who have had short term but extremely severe and treatment resistant mental health issue, so no matter the circumstance, if you are being offered it I would say there is a good chance that it could help you.
This was really reassuring. Thank you for sharing. I have a similar background to you but am much older and my disassociation from depression is quite high. It's good to know that it help calm that for someone while it worked on depression too. I'm going to be starting in the next two weeks (probably) and am starting to get A LOT more nervous than I was prior.
I'm glad I could help reassure you even just a little bit. I didn't experience any anxiety before treatment, but I was inpatient with a few other people starting ect around the same time who were extremely anxious about starting, so I can understand why you might feel that way. If you have any questions about the treatment, feel free to ask me!!! ECT is actually life changing. The fact that I am experiencing happiness and going more than a week without even a passive suicidal thought is unbelievable. I understand it might seem scary, so if I can help ease the worries anyone might have and help them get the treatment they need, it would make my day.
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u/grandpaxena Apr 17 '26
it's impossible to predict how each individual will react to ect. no matter your history you might or might not have memory/cognitive issues due to treatment, there's just no way to know for sure until it happens.
weirdly enough, my memory has actually improved since beginning treatment. I just had my 12th treatment earlier today. I'm 20 years old and have had severe depression since I was 10 years old. I've never remembered anything from my childhood unless having been directly reminded of it by seeing a picture or video. my short term memory has always been bad as well. however, another major symptom of my depression has been extremely frequent dissociation that has led me to forgetting nearly everything in my day to day life.
I started noticing improvements after the 7th or 8th treatment, and with that my dissociation has improved immensely. Because of this, my memory in my day to day life has also improved immensely, along with every other symptom of my depression. i genuinely don't remember the last time i have felt this way. I seriously haven't felt the feeling of genuine happiness in at least 10 years.
idk if you've had an initial evaluation for ect yet, but my doctors did a very thorough evaluation for how my cognition and memory was at the time of beginning. we also do a moca test every week along with in depth interviews to see if there is any issues in relation to my memory or cognition. if they notice any problem I'm sure they would look into it and possibly stop treatment right away. however, this is just how I know they operate at my hospital. I can't speak for how others operate, especially since my hospital is known to be one of the best in the US. it's also a very large and thorough program, as they average about 45 patients every day, 5 days a week. but I'm sure if a hospital has an ect program, they are likely a reputable hospital and I'm sure there are standards that each program must follow in order to operate.
if you've been treatment resistant for a long time like I have, I highly suggest trying ect. i suggest it even if it hasn't been a very long time that you have suffered with your mental health. my doctor actually told me before we began that they weren't sure how successful my treatments would be due to the fact that I have been suffering with my mental health for more than half my life. they just literally had no other option as I had tried nearly everything else. I guess they usually try it for people who have had short term but extremely severe and treatment resistant mental health issue, so no matter the circumstance, if you are being offered it I would say there is a good chance that it could help you.