I’m not too sure on the exact mechanism of how it works. The research I’ve been able to find can’t seem to agree if it’s something about the post-seizure neural activity or something specific about the seizure activity itself. There’s a lot of debate about exactly how it works.

ECT does have side effects. The biggest and scariest is the memory side effects. The most common memory issue is that people often forget things around the time of their treatments. Other common ones are headaches, nausea, muscle aches, and jaw pain.

Personally, my memory isn’t as sticky as it was prior to ECT. Before it was like fly paper and now it’s more like scotch tape. I actually need to use reminders regularly now, whereas before I rarely if ever needed them. There is a noticeable difference in how mentally “sharp” I am, but to me it’s worth it. Without ECT, I wouldn’t be able to do anything worth remembering.