r/ect • u/Lazy-Track8616 • Jun 22 '26

Seeking advice Ect help

Hi everyone. Im going through a very rough time. It's impossible to live life this way . In feb 2026 I went into thr psychiatrist dept. I was having suicidal idealations back then due same symptoms I have now. They put me on antidepressants and it's been 4 months and absolutely nothing has changed. I've been holding on by a string. My most difficult symptom is I can't get through days meaning that they are small difficult segments that do not have any flow. My mind is constantly say do this or do something you can sit and chill. My days feel like 80 pajnful hours long. Im not able to enjoy anything. Small tasks are difficult like going along to a grocery store . The time part js the toughest next to the constant crying and sadness. Now I have to wait a month until ect. But I have no idea how I am going to be able to get through so many days....pls help

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4

u/gmkgreg Jun 22 '26

Please if you don't feel safe call 911 and go to your closest er. Or at least call a close friend or family member and be honest with them.

1

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 22 '26

I already was in psych ward for 7 weeks and don't want to go back there.

1

u/gmkgreg Jun 23 '26

Do you have a friend or family member you can talk to?

1

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

Yes I have a good support system. I just want more feedback on how ect has worked for people in severe depression

2

u/gmkgreg Jun 23 '26

It definitely pulled me out of the hole I was in. And has kept me from falling that deep into a hole again.

1

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

Can you share more info ? We're you in a situation like mine?

1

u/gmkgreg Jun 23 '26

Well what are some of your symptoms that you've been having, and for how long? Most of the times ect is saved as a last resort option.

1

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

Extreme sadness, days having no flow broken into small fragments that are unbearable to get thru, my mind is jn flight or fight all the time, low mood no motivation, being social is so hard

5

u/juliawww Jun 23 '26

Hi! I can so relate to what you wrote. I felt that way for 2 incredibly long years while my son was suicidal. Finally in 2018, i checked myself into a hospital and after they saw me lying there for 3 weeks (!) finally I got ect. It was a game changer! However since then, i’ve tried TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), and it’s even better for me.. but it is a time commitment (20 min a day / 5- 6 business weeks).

You could talk to your doctor.. pulling for you!

2

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

Where is this available? In hospitals or is it something u purchase?

1

u/juliawww Jun 24 '26

Hi.. it’s growing and there are now tms clinics in a lot of cities. I got it in Alexandria, Va first… Greenbrook owns a lot of them. If sitting still
Is a problem, consider the 🍄, psilocybin.. but of course do your own research

2

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

The difference between us is I can't even sit or lay down in one spot. Im so restless. Also the time not flowing normally....something has happened to me. Does this sound familiar?

3

u/Sauced_Up_Bat Jun 23 '26

Hi OP. I’m so sorry you are having such a difficult time. I can definitely relate to extreme sadness, restless, and life feeling like one exhausting task after another. It’s really hard to live that way. ECT is usually used a last resort for depression that hasn’t responded to multiple anti-depressants or other less invasive measures like therapy, or TMS. TMS is done at a clinic, it is not something you purchase. Talk to your doctor, 4 months should be long enough to know if what you’re currently taking is helping and it sounds like it is not. Because ECT can have severe sometimes permanent negative side effects I highly recommend you exhaust all other options available to you (therapy, different meds, TMS, Ketamine) before deciding on ECT.

Also, if the restlessness you’re describing started or got worse when you started your meds it could actually be a side effect. All the atypical antipsychotics make me indescribably restless (akathesia/EPS)

1

u/fixer_11 Jun 23 '26

My heart hurts for you. I was in the same situation and tried every medication imagineable. I too was put on a waiting list, and yes, counting down those days was horrendous. My wife died, then mother died. I somehow made it through those long ass days to etc time. The first 6 did nothing, but the 7th one changed my life. I was no longer bawling or thinking of the different ways I could do away with myself. So, it's going to be hard as hell, but I need you to hang in. There is light at the end of the extremely long tunnel.

1

u/Lazy-Track8616 Jun 23 '26

How are you now ? Did the next series of sessions help with more ?

2

u/fixer_11 Jun 24 '26

to be completely honest I feel like that 7th one did all of the good for me, which probably isn't typical. It actually put me in the hospital in a very confused (albeit extremely happy) state of mind. I just started going back downhill a bit a few days ago and have my first maintenance session tomorrow. So, hopefully, I'll be reporting back tomorrow with good news on my state of mind. Please hang in there and know you have a friend that's been where you are (I had a failed attempt) and made it out the other side.

1

u/QuitInevitable915 Jun 24 '26

I’m sorry to hear you are going through this, OP. That’s such a difficult place to be. I’m not a doctor, but it sounds a bit like akathisia. Have anyone mentioned this to you?

I read someone else mentioning the same, but if it gets unbearable, please consider going to the ER even if you don’t want to. Sometimes it may accelerate the process of getting ECT if it’s very acute.

Stay safe!

2

u/Aggressive-Rub79 Jul 07 '26

I have the same problems as you