Shock Quotes

“There is an element of selfishness to this, I suppose. It feels pretty good to be able to so quickly help someone. That is, after all, one of the great emotional payoffs of medicine. That isn't to say that ECT is either a panacea or without flaws - but when used in the right way for the right purposes it's of great benefit, and condemning it because it isn't perfect would lead to more suffering and harm, no less.

It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. I have memory problems as a residual of it; however, I'm alive. That was the main point.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“FEAST, for focal electrically administered seizure therapy.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“[P]eople who have ECT need to be prepared for some memories not returning - and for not being able to choose which they will be.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“Silence is an old story for the mentally ill. Most would not hesitate to family, friends, and even bosses, if they had cancer or diabetes. Yet they rightfully worry about being branded defective if they admit being mired in depression, on a manic high, or, worse still, listening to voices that only a schizophrenic can hear.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“Researchers still have not filled in the puzzle of how or why ECT provides relief, although the proof is compelling that it does, faster and more surely than drugs or talk therapy. Questions also remain about the price shock patients pay in memories lost, in rare cases permanently, and whether such risks can be minimized or eliminated entirely.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“ECT is the only remedy in mainstream medicine that is expanding in use, receiving increased attention in research, and offering life-saving hope to tens of thousands of people, even as much as the public believes it is extinct.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“Like chemotherapy, ECT is a toxic treatment for a crippling disease. Like any surgery requiring anesthesia, it carries risks. And like the electric paddles that cardiologists use to shock a fibrillating heart back into rhythm, ECT is not a cure but can offer relief and even remission.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“are”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy

“There is an element of selfishness to this, I suppose. It feels pretty good to be able to so quickly help someone. That is, after all, one of the great emotional payoffs of medicine. That isn't to say that ECT is either a panacea or without flaws - but when used in the right way for the right purposes it's of great benefit, and condemning it because it isn't perfect would lead to more suffering and harm, no less.”
― Kitty Dukakis, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy