Hacker News Reader

Comment by rincebrain | Hacker News Reader

I don't know, I've had it done (by choice, not under involuntary commitment of any kind), and my brain feels pretty intact.

It's possible that it has no useful effect on people and all the (mostly historical, for reasons the article mentions) studies of its efficacy are fundamentally flawed, but people do keep using it outside of involuntary contexts, when the desperation is strong enough and enough other treatments haven't worked, and some of them find it quite effective.

View on HN

I have a close friend for whom ECT has been a last resort for treatment-resistant depression, and who has found it very helpful.

Question. Did you try this as last resort treatment? Have you tried psychedelics/ketamine therapies and they weren’t effective or this is what was available to you?

I had tried a great many things, including ketamine, though not (at that time) psychedelics.

Just another anecdote. A large dose of LSD reversed the course of my severe depression. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but there are lots of things that a depressed person can try, and believe me, it's worth trying.

Forgive me if I'm being simplistic and/or ignorant about it, but can psychedelics such as LSD not also result in somewhat of the opposite effect, e.g. psychosis? (Though it seems to me that if ECT is considered, calculated risks are on the table already.)

Yes, LSD and other psychedelics can trigger psychosis. There's definitely a risk-vs-reward calculation that must be made. I'd either be dead or be a ne'er-do-well without intervention though.

Certainly a better outcome indeed. And in that calculation not very different from things like chemotherapy or other cancer treatments after all.

My theory is that any kind of strong mental effect can, but not necessarily will, help with depression. Be that very strong emotions, drugs, ECT, exercise etc. The trouble is that depression itself makes a person less likely to want to try these.

I think that last part is a really important point; lots of talk here about logical solutions to the problem but depression isn’t logical. You may rationally know daily exercise could be as effective as your meds, but finding that motivation when you can’t get out of bed is a large gulf to cross.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com