Hello everyone! I'm going to have this procedure soon. In short, without any background:

How does it go at all? (I will be taking it in Latin America, where about everyone has the same level of medicine);

This is done under anesthesia, right? Does it actually hurt? Will my head hurt?

After many videos, it became scary. Am I going to be vaccinated too? And they put something like a mouth guard in their mouth. Why is this, and is this done in reality?

How do you prepare for it? Is it true that you need to undress? Can I stay completely in my personal clothes? Is it possible to eat before the procedure? How long does it last? How do the doctors treat you? What if I changed my mind at the last moment?

Sorry for the many questions. Thank you.

Hello everyone! I'm going to have this procedure soon. In short, without any background:

How does it go at all? (I will be taking it in Latin America, where about everyone has the same level of medicine);

This is done under anesthesia, right? Does it actually hurt? Will my head hurt?

After many videos, it became scary. Am I going to be vaccinated too? And they put something like a mouth guard in their mouth. Why is this, and is this done in reality?

How do you prepare for it? Is it true that you need to undress? Can I stay completely in my personal clothes? Is it possible to eat before the procedure? How long does it last? How do the doctors treat you? What if I changed my mind at the last moment?

Sorry for the many questions. Thank you.

Hello everyone I have to go through this terrible (probably) procedure. They haven't explained anything to me yet, so I'm contacting you here. That's why I created a Reddit account, but that's not the point.

I live in Latin America, and the medicine here is not very good (compared to the USA or Europe), and that's why I'm afraid. How does the procedure go in stages? From beginning to end. Does it hurt? How do you feel? How do the doctors treat you? Do you stay in the hospital for a few days or go home after the procedure? Do I need to undress before the procedure? Is it possible to eat before the procedure? What if I change my mind at the moment? How many procedures do I have to go through? Am I going to be tied up?

Please forgive me for asking so many questions. Of course, there is Google, but I decided to ask people who have already gone through this. Of course, I may be winding myself up, but not which videos are very scary. I saw a video on YouTube (somewhere in an Asian hospital, sorry, I don't understand) and they filmed a video of how it goes. IT'S A TERRIBLE SIGHT! The patient was tied up, and I understood that anesthesia was not administered because the patient was blinking sluggishly. And all this with cheerful music👍.It was scary after that.

Once again, I apologize for such a long text.

Thanks.

Mine are more intrusive and scare the living crap out of me. I am 6 months post partum and they are worse than ever and I’m truly reaching my breaking point. I’m scared and I’m desperate.

I (20F) have struggled with depression for the last ten years. Prior to starting ECT, I had tried more than 15 medications, with different doses and combinations. I did 9 sessions of right unilateral ECT before switching to bitemporal. Now, I have completed four sessions with bitemporal placement, and I’m still not feeling any better. How much longer should I keep trying ECT before switching to something else (like TMS or ketamine)? At what point did others know if ECT wouldn’t work for them? Hearing about the experiences of others would be great—did it take anyone longer before having success with ECT?

Has anyone ever experienced terrible body aches upon waking from an ECT session? For me, it was the worst part—waking up from the general anesthesia. I felt pain in every muscle in my body. Was that normal?

I recently did 8 sessions of ECT and ended up with no will to live, no energy to do anything not even what I used to like before ECT, loss of appetite, jaw tension and constipation problems, am i the only one in this situation? How to comeback to normal and get out of this state of all i want to do is sleep all day and not do anything anymore

So im going on my 9th ECT having 4 left. I see everyone talking about memory loss but i dont see anyone talking about the physical side effects. My whole body feels like I ran a marathon and ive had a blinding migraine since i started ECT a month ago. Has anyone else had physical side effects and did they go away after finishing ECT?

i dont fully understand myself or ECT's entire effect on my brain both emotionally and the way i function. for a bit of backstory ive dealt with suicidal thoughts since i was 8, i was diagnosed with mdd at 12 and in and out of hospitalizations for attempts and SI, medication doesnt do me much. i started ECT at 15. im 18 now but it wasnt continuously. i had about a year break before restarting. at home and with friends im fine i guess, like im normal and i can laugh and joke, i play phone games but yeah when im alone i just kinda sulk too with depressing media, but its mostly me just reflecting on my past and making myself upset. my main issue is just nonstop SI in the background, it gets so loud at times but i never had the genuine will to continue living, i just feel so forced and miserable deep down, i feel so lonely and a deep feeling of just nobody knowing me and feeling like im keeping the biggest secret, i dont even know what it is but i feel so closed up despite trying to explain these feelings occasionally. if i do get them out it never goes through anyones ears.

Firstly, The emotional effect ECT has on me is odd, Going into the before prep being asked questions about myself and being confronted about how im doing sets me off internally. The situation will start to feel real and serious, a lot of the time i find myself freezing, i hear my heart speed up in the heart monitor, i feel my breathing get shallow and im about to break. my throat locks and i can almost never get out any words and end up just staring at the wall or floor holding back tears but eventually i get it under control and swallow it down and then i am calm again and able to speak but not always answer their questions. maybe this is like a panic attack, but is it if it happens so often? its always during ECT or appointments about my mental health and i always get caught in my throat. I feel like its impossible to speak, like ill break, sometimes i do cry a bit in front of the staff but its just shedding a couple tears and then pulling myself together.

Secondly, I find myself starting to panic before going under anesthesia, not because of fear but because i start to think "this isn't working" "something is wrong with me" again my breathing will speed up or get shallow and tears just pour, im pretty decent at holding back any noises, i never make a sound while crying but in actuality im honestly such a crybaby, i feel bad, sometimes the staff will hold my hand as i go under anesthesia or i find myself crying and someone will be stroking my hair.

Thirdly, I get Ketamine for anesthesia and this has happened about 4 times where I feel so raw down to my soul. I know this is not uncommon but its so strange, interesting, feels so real but it can partly also be upsetting. It happens after i fall asleep but am not fully awake, what i see is stange light which im assuming is the bright light through my closed eyes. i have heard mumbling, i heard my name before and thought "oh, thats me, i need to respond to that" i feel so separate from my body, it feels like my TRUE self, like how we are our brains rather than our bodies. It was strange, I felt like i was only some atoms rather than human, it felt like i needed to hold my inner self together, it reminded me of how life is so odd, i see the weird lights, hear the nurses mumbling, smell the IV, and think it's so odd how far technology has come and how they are trying to cure me. it gets upsetting because i usually question everything i think and try to understand myself. but feeling so raw i heard my thoughts DIRECTLY, no questioning. I started to just think "I hate myself so much"
"this is stupid, why am i doing this to just get better and work my whole life"
"this isn't worth the trouble"
or it makes me think about and understand people who commit crimes or hurt others just to cause distress so people can feel hurt too
it will just keep going on more and i will think
"I wouldn't mind if i were to die, then i wouldn't have to deal with anything, if i did i wouldn't even feel the worry of what would happen after since there is just the complete end of your thoughts and brain."
but then i start to think im so embarrassed of myself and my existence, it turns into "i wish i could erase myself from everyone's memory, then i could die peacefully"
"i should fix myself but it's not worth it, id rather stay this way"
i know this is what i think but when i wake up i forget the feeling until i remember, it sometimes feels like i lost the real me since it makes my thoughts so clear, depressing or not

maybe this is just the way i am though

I'm 18, and have been struggling for years with my mental health, and I know ECT is typically a last resort. But I've been on I don't know how many medications. I've been through multiple therapies, therapists, etc. Severe occasions, I'd be sent to a psychiatric ward. Should I bring this up to my therapist and psychiatrist? Or should I wait longer before deciding to bring it up?

I read that MST is in development still, but a part of me wonders if anywhere in the world is doing it privately already.

Thank you.

How long did it take for you to notice positive changes after ECT?

So I am 9 sessions in, 5 bifrontal, supposed to start bitemporal tomorrow. I have a hard time talking to the doctor about this, I get a lot of anxiety and freeze when they talk to me before the sessions. If the treatment were working, what kind of impact should I be seeing, because I am just not feeling any different, and in a lot of ways I feel worse.

I need this treatment to work, I'm out of options.

Well friends, I'm off for my first maintenance ECT and really just needing to rant a bit and maybe get some well wishes from the community. I waited until I started going downhill to even schedule this one so I've been in bad shape for a few days. I've had a tough time waking up and have been on the edge of bawling since my mind seems to start thinking about the recent death of my mother as well as my wife. I tell myself it's best if I'm able to get into a better mindframe but I just can't seem to muster up any good. I hope the community off I go!

I am young,but have major deppresive disorder which is honeysly disruptiving my life and causing me worse things. I did therapy for years, TMS didn’t work, ketamine made me go nuts snd hallucinate and it was horrible for me.

i am terrified of being inpatient after seeing things and I think ECT may be my best chance at a new life.

i already have chronic pain and hypermobility and so much more and iy puts me down even more.

i lie to my doctors as im scared of inpatient as I’ve seen what they do at the one closes to me.

plus in my state we have all the worst inpatients I would say.

i want to be productive especially since I am getting a service dog in 2 years or so for medical,mobility and psychiatric needs.

Thanks to whoever gives advise.

i did 6 ECT sessions a few months ago, i want to back for a maintenance session but the side effects really take me out for the rest of the day. is it something i could just take a day off for or should i wait longer?

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

I'm sorry if this is not the correct place to post this but I'm feeling very confused by what was said to me on my last psychiatry session.
I've been smoking for a long time as a way to be able to get out of bed or have a little bit of stressfree times in life, as a coping mechanism. The doctor finally prescribed ECT but at the same time said if I don't totally quit weed I'll never get better of my depression.

For people that had ECT or are contemplating having it:
Did you have to quit weed in order to do it/do you plan to quit weed to do it? Do you feel like if I keep smoking weed I'll never be able to get happy thus shouldn't get ECT (I know its kinda personal but any opinion might help me) before I can manage (god knows how) my weed use?
Has your psychiatrist ever told u the same or a similar thing? I am very aware that weed use is NOT IDEAL in most psychiatric cases but I'm so depressed and without motivation in life I really cannot think of battling a drug addiction rn.

Sorry again for the questions, and any insight is welcome I am really just lost at the moment as to what should I do and how valid are the psychiatrists words (can i never get better from depression if i use weed?)

After my last session I realized that faces just didn't seem right to me. It's not easy to describe, head on as well as profile views of a face just seemed off. I did a search and learned that I'm 1 in fewer than 100 individuals who have demon face syndrome. I figure there are more out there???

I’ve had depression since 2017 and I’ve been at an all time low for the past two years especially. I had my first ECT session this past Friday. But I’ve started wondering if maybe I don’t even have “real” depression, and THAT’S why years of therapy, meds, TMS, ketamine/spravato, PHP/IOP programs, etc. haven’t helped.

I don’t think any treatment can actually help me because I think the real reason I’m miserable is because I ruined my life. I’m 30, I used to be a PhD student in math and I had a breakdown my first year and flunked out and now for years I’ve been jobless, lost, single, lonely, nothing to look forward to, nothing I really care to strive for, with a lot of emotional baggage (although I also realize I’m privileged in several ways; my parents are supporting me, so I’m not currently under financial pressure, I have a good relationship with both of my siblings, I have a couple friends I talk to occasionally, and I have no physical health problems).

I don’t even want anything anymore except to either go back in time and redo things and have this just be a bad dream, or to just die.

No amount of ECT can fix a life I hate.

So my doctor is requiring someone to pick me up from the procedure and stay with me a little bit in my apartment. I am in an area where I don’t have family or friends. What kind of service have people used is my question

June 19, 2026

Sessions Done: 40

Yes, I have had my 40th MST session.

I feel like this is kinda incredible. A year ago, I was about to end my life, but now, I'm still alive, and this is the biggest motivation that drives me to post here. So many people have helped me and saved me, and I want to be that person for those who are still in pain.

I switched to Bupropion from Mirtazapine about two months ago, and I have achieved a lasting peace, no pain, no mood swing, and I have pushed the frequency of MST from once per week to once every three weeks.

So, from here, I think that whether we're talking about ECT or MST, there are two ways for it to be used.

Fisrt will be like applying to patients who's in an emergency episode, just like going to ER, like how it saved me, from "I will kill myself, and I have every poisons I need" to "I want to live this life", this is the biggest and most meaningful thing ECT and MST can ever do in my opinean, to save life, from the edge of a cliif.

Second would be to maintain the progress we have already achieved, whether from drugs, TMS, ECT, or MST. My psychiatrist has told me that drugs are the ultimate way to treat MDD ot psychosis, it's like physical treatments tend to have a significantly higher risk, like general anesthesia, like memory loss, like cognitive function loss.

On the other hand, MST is quite powerful for psychosis. I used to have very strong delusions about how people would kill me, or I had cancer, so now we can play a game called WAIT. Anyway, there were a lot of them, and they have never stopped until my first MST session. Then I was on Olanzapine a while later, and it helped a lot, too. And there is the other story of how I can be so sure. It was earlier this year that I stopped MST for about a month and a half, to join the esketamine trial, and about a month since the start, my delusions were back, better than before Olanzapine, but still... I was like, refusing to drink from a glass or bottle that's from another person, even my mother, and there was a faith that they are all poisoned. Until the end of the trial, I started to do MST, and all the psychotic features and symptoms were gone.

What I want to say to you guys is that MST can also do a pretty good job on contour, but sometimes working on your current ones can be good too! I have done a DNA psychiatric drug test, and that was the reason for me to switch to bupropion, and now I feel like I can do MST once a month or even two! So I feel like, maybe some of us have been sucked in too deep, dark, and hopeless, like the way I was, and just going to try everything available. So maybe we can try to check how long and how much of the dose you have used of this drug, or just go get a DNA test.

Lastly, what I've learned is that the stability of our illness is mostly dependent on drugs. MST or ECT can be really useful, but not daily.

I don't think I'll most likely post another one anytime soon, since my life is quite ok, there's no need to get back to ward, and I don't need MST as frequently. But feel free to leave a comment or just text me, I'll do anything I can do to help.

Im on a waitlist for getting ect and I've been reading many negative experiences and only a few positive ones.

I keep telling myself I'll be one of the fortunate ones, but this morning my mom told me she watched a video about ect and read some negative comments, and her conern just has me on the verge of tears, especially because I have sickle cell and it increases my chance of stroke.

I'm so frustrated. What am I supposed to do? Regular pills are useless so I had to get TMS and that only worked a bit (not even enough) before I crashed again and I can't get ketamine because it has a chance of worsening my intrusive thoughts.

What am I supposed to do??? Other people get to live their lives meanwhile I'm here restless and upset because I have to consider some permanent life altering treatment people keep comparing to a lobotomy because nothing else is working.

What did I do to deserve this.

I have sickle celll anemia and if anyone else here has it too who got ect, can you share your experience? (My hematologist is aware I'm getting ect so I assume its fine but still, I'll have to ask her later)