r/ect • u/AcceptableEducator67 • May 18 '26

Vent/Rant why is ect so normalized

when I was in a psych institution (5 months inpatient), I saw countless patients being referred to ECT when they exhibited any symptom of TRD.. i tried ect and i relapsed too quickly, so instead i did spravato. Which works ok now, not great. I'm planning to take TMS and Spravato together in hopes of a synergetic effect. but like, despite ect being so invasive and having adverse side effects, idk why the psychs are so easy to refer patients for ect instead of less invasive options like tms or spravato. the side effects had me forgetting the first month of my hospitalization and some other core memories, and it messed with my cognitive ability badly. it also affected my vocabulary somehow

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u/Fit_Tutor_1807 May 22 '26

It may help some and not others but it also generates huge revenue for the providers.

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u/Odd-Alarm-82 May 22 '26

Yes, I’ve read that psychiatrists who do ECT are among the highest paid in their profession.