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I have read ‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath and a fair bit of Ted Hughes work.
Like Sylvia Plath I have experience of ECT (in my case as a result of withdrawal from paroxetine). As a trainee doctor I have also administered ECT.
The account that Sylvia Plath gives of ECT in ‘The Bell Jar’ is that of it administered without anaesthetic and without muscle relaxant. This is no longer the basis of any ECT treatment. It is important to make this absolutely clear.
I received ECT as a direct consequence of withdrawing from paroxetine (Seroxat). I was initially prescribed this medication for social anxiety disorder. In my case, ECT was unhelpful in relieving my iatrogenic suffering, and ultimately I had to return to Seroxat, a medication that I despise.
My experience of ECT is hard to describe. Even today, any description that I might offer, would find no subjective room on a scale such as Montgomery-Asperg.
I recall being pushed along corridors to ECT. I do not recall much of the 6 months after.
Please understand: My experience of ECT is just that. It is mine alone. My experience in no way devalues anybody else's experiences of ECT.
Music credit: BBC proms – Grieg piano conserto – Buniatishvil – 17 August 2018
A poem by Peter:
