Why are people harmed by ECT so often ignored — even when they reach out directly to researchers?

Content Warnings: Brief mention if abuse and suicide.

In this episode, we continue reading emails from injured ECT patients who reached out to government-funded researcher Harold Sackeim, only to have their pleas for help ignored.

Sackeim had publicly invited people experiencing memory problems after ECT to contact him—but, according to author Linda Andre, he later testified that he discarded 175 of those messages.

Through these stories, we dig deeper into the history of why people harmed by ECT are so often not beleived.

this is for educational purposes only. I’m not a medical professional, and nothing here should be taken as medical advice. I’m sharing my understanding of the public record and other published works on this topic.

Show Notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C_PesMA4_CFCPkLXojJWSjP8ipq9SGTGo2r5KBeo5Oo/edit?usp=sharing

🎵 Music Credits:

Intro/Outro: "Naya Instrumental" by Tomh

Artist: @tomh_music

Track: https://soundcloud.com/tomh_music/naya-instrumental

Used under free license with attribution

In this episode, we continue reading emails from injured ECT patients who reached out to government-funded researcher Harold Sackeim, only to have their pleas for help ignored.

Sackeim had publicly invited people experiencing memory problems after ECT to contact him—but, according to author Linda Andre, he later testified that he discarded 175 of those messages.

Through these stories, we dig deeper into the history of why people harmed by ECT are so often dismissed and disbelieved.

Show Notes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C_PesMA4_CFCPkLXojJWSjP8ipq9SGTGo2r5KBeo5Oo/edit?usp=sharing

Life After ECT Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of those harmed by ECT through advocacy, education, and research. Learn how you can support our work.

If you’re struggling after ECT, you’re not alone.

I’m Anna, a childhood psychiatric drug and teen electroshock survivor. After my brain was damaged by ECT in 2006, I was met with silence and denial from the medical system.

That’s why I founded Life After ECT—the first nonprofit dedicated to helping survivors through advocacy, education, and research.

On this channel you’ll find video essays, survivor stories, expert talks, and resources to help you understand your injuries and start rebuilding your life.

Learn more at LifeAfterECT.org

In this episode, we revisit a 2010 FDA letter by Linda Andre, and emails from ECT survivors who reached out to goverment funded researcher, Harold Sackeim, for help.

Sackeim had publicly invited people experiencing memory problems after ECT to contact him—but according to Linda Andre, he later testified that he discarded messages from 175 patients who wrote to him asking for help.

Show Notes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1https://docs.google.com/document/d/1csy4Ah-34c0TIkilOpNBFfXHiQ72fLYgRLHTMk0NBSQ/edit?usp=sharing

Life After ECT Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of those harmed by ECT through advocacy, education, and research.

Learn how you can support our work.

This video is for anyone who feels like they lost a part of themselves after ECT. I want to give voice to the unseen challenges so many face after electroconvulsive therapy. Many who’ve had ECT are living with undiagnosed, untreated disabilities—struggling to find acknowledgment and support. The aftermath of ECT can be life-changing, impacting everything—identity, career, and relationships. I created this video essay to process my own experience of becoming disabled after ECT.

My hope is that it will help you know that your experience is real and you are not alone.

This video was originally uploaded to YouTube in 2016. ResourcesGrief After ECT: ⁠https://lifeafterect.com/disenfranchised-grief-the-unseen-pain-of-those-disabled-by-electroconvulsive-therapy-ect/⁠

Resources: ⁠https://lifeafterect.com/resources/ ⁠ECT Stories: ⁠https://lifeafterect.com/ect-stories/⁠

Learn how you can help all who undergo ECT live their best life by supporting reforms that will ensure informed consent, rehab if recipients need it, and more https://www.change.org/p/standardize-regulate-audit-shock-treatments-electroconvulsive-therapy-or-ect⁠ ------------ Life After ECT Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people harmed by ECT through advocacy, education, and research.

⁠https://lifeafterect.com/donate⁠

This video is for anyone who feels like they lost a part of themselves after ECT.

I want to give voice to the unseen challenges so many face after electroconvulsive therapy. Many who’ve had ECT are living with undiagnosed, untreated disabilities—struggling to find acknowledgment and support. The aftermath of ECT can be life-changing, impacting everything—identity, career, and relationships. I created this video essay to process my own experience of becoming disabled after ECT.

My hope is that it will help you know that your experience is real and you are not alone.

This video was originally uploaded to YouTube in 2016. Resources

Grief After ECT: https://lifeafterect.com/disenfranchised-grief-the-unseen-pain-of-those-disabled-by-electroconvulsive-therapy-ect/Resources: https://lifeafterect.com/resources/ ECT Stories: https://lifeafterect.com/ect-stories/

Get Involved

Learn how you can help support people harmed by ECT

https://www.change.org/p/standardize-regulate-audit-shock-treatments-electroconvulsive-therapy-or-ect ------------ Life After ECT Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people harmed by ECT through advocacy, education, and research.

https://lifeafterect.com/donate

12/6/24

Update: David Russel has been released!

The following is an update on forced drugging and ECT hearings.

Content Warnings:

• Forced psychiactric treatment/ ECT

Show Notes

Life After ECT, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of those harmed by ECT through advocacy, education, and research. Learn how you can support our work.

Does Electroconvulsive Therapy have a place in 21st century evidence-based medicine?

The following is a Presentation by Professor John Read given in March 2024.

Dr. John Read is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London. He has published over 180 research papers and in 2022 was listed in Stanford University's register of the top 2% most cited researchers in the world.

He has published six reviews of the ECT research literature (including four in peer-reviewed journals) and made multiple commentaries on the research.

His most recent peer-reviewed review of the ECT literature was a 40-page paper, in 2019, written with Professor Irving Kirsch, Associate Director of Placebo Studies at Harvard Medical School.

He is also the lead researcher on two independent audits of the administration and monitoring of ECT in England's Health Service and co-author of three studies of the accuracy of information provided to ECT patients and their families.

https://www.uel.ac.uk/about-uel/staff/john-read⁠

His latest research:

https://lifeafterect.com/participate-in-groundbreaking-research-share-your-experience-with-electroconvulsive-therapy-in-the-sectaff-survey/

This presentation was in colaboration with Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR)

https://www.nlb.ie/campaigns/mental-health

Full presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY5CTuMbW2w&t=2s