Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used to treat patients with certain types of mental illness, including severe depression, severe mania, and catatonia. It was first developed in the late 1930s, with the first recorded treatments at McLean Hospital taking place in 1941. A few years prior to the advent of ECT, many hospitals, including McLean, used chemically induced seizures as a method to...
Brian Neville had a good life. A one-time body builder, he was 43, a successful businessman in the tanning industry, with a home in Massachusetts and a vacation condo in Florida. Then one morning in 2006 he woke up with the blues. It developed into a persistent darkness that just would not go away. After about six months, he sought treatment. He received prescription medications that he was...
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been around since the late 1930s, and it has been clear from the beginning that it is an effective treatment for patients with certain types of mental illness, including severe depression, severe mania, and catatonia. Despite this potential to provide dramatic relief for patients, stigma surrounding the procedure—partially fostered by misleading portrayals of...
Elizabeth See struggled with depression for more than a decade when, in November 2014, she was diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys and lungs. A tennis professional, she suddenly found her livelihood and passion restricted by physical constraints and regular dialysis treatments. TMS and ECT are increasingly sought-after treatments for depression...
