ECT
Article
ECT is a recurring concept in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between May 25, 2021 and November 20, 2023. The archive places it in contexts such as “In ECT, a machine delivers strong electrical current to your brain”; “very strong electrical current of ECT”; “trial of ketamine vs. ECT”. It most often appears alongside 2002 meta-analysis by Cochrane Collaboration, 5-HTP, 5-HTP.
Metadata
- Category: Concepts
- Mention count: 2
- Issue count: 2
- First seen: May 25, 2021
- Last seen: November 20, 2023
Appears In
Related Pages
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- 2002 meta-analysis by Cochrane Collaboration (1 shared issues)
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- 5-HTP (1 shared issues)
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- 5-HTP (1 shared issues)
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- ACX (1 shared issues)
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- amitriptyline (1 shared issues)
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- Andrea Cipriani (1 shared issues)
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- Apple (1 shared issues)
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- aripiprazole (1 shared issues)
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- Astralcodexten Com (1 shared issues)
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- Awais Aftab (1 shared issues)
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- Bill Benzon (1 shared issues)
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- bupropion (1 shared issues)
External Links
Source Context
Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.
The short version: Depression has a combination of biological, psychological, and social causes. You can address the social causes by changing your life circumstances (and research suggests people underestimate the potential benefits of making major life changes). You can address the psychological causes with therapy; possible therapies are diverse and complicated but I especially recommend “behavioral activation” therapy (where you try to keep a schedule and also do new, interesting things) and David Burns’ book Feeling Good. You can address the biological causes with a combination of lifestyle changes, medications, and supplements. Consider exercising more and adapting a modified Mediterranean diet. Consider taking antidepressants like escitalopram and bupropion, and supplements like l-methylfolate. Other non-chemical biological options include light therapy (safe and easy), transcranial magnetic stimulation (more complicated), and electroconvulsive therapy (difficult but extremely effective last-ditch solution). If something treats your depression, continue it for some length of time depending on the type of intervention, then consider withdrawing it to see if you can maintain your mood without it.
If lifestyle changes, medication, and psychotherapy don’t work, there are some more-involved but very powerful strategies for dealing with treatment-resistant depression, including wake therapy, ketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and electroconvulsive therapy.
There are two powerful depression therapies that are more physics than chemistry: trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
2: And some good comments on the ketamine post. Thomas Reilly says the study was underpowered. Awais Aftab compares to a recent very positive trial of ketamine vs. ECT. Eremolalos on a meta-analysis. Nate Praschan argues that anaesthetics might block ketamine directly.