About

a  little about

the ECT chronicles:
jumpstarting a life with a little spark to the head

‘A Little Spark’ refers to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a form of treatment which I started having in January 2009–the same time I started this journal. This journal is a personal account of getting ECT and living with a mental illness, as well as a compilation of mental-health related news of interest. I hope it serves as a resource to those interested in ECT and mental health in general. On top of those things, I’m sure I’ll be bringing up stuff like the NFL (I’m a football fan) and other random topics….

I believe I’ve been dealing with depression for a very long time. I was given my first prescription for antidepressants in early 2002 (I suppose it was for depression; the doctor practically handed them to me). In mid 2004, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder II, rapid cycling, which was a diagnosis that came when I was hospitalized after my second suicide attempt. After a few hospitalizations and countless medication changes, my doctor and I came to a conclusion that I should try electroconvulsive therapy….and I am still having the treatment, in addition to talk therapy and taking medication.  The journey still goes on, and well, so so does this journal/blog.

I’m 31, but I am currently back in school, trying to get a masters in sociology. I am not married, but I do live with a wonderful cat whom I adopted seven years ago.  His name is Simon, named partly after Mr. Paul Simon. I enjoy clean lines (love Piet Mondrian), but am really bad at cleaning house.

Please leave me a comment or e-mail me: yumers@live.com!
I’ve also recently gotten myself started on the whole Twitter thing, so please follow me @ECTchronicles

and in the meantime, feel free to subscribe to my blog at:
http://alittlespark.wordpress.com/rss

thanks for visiting!


5 Comments to “About”

    
  1. bipolarmaniac
    February 15, 2011 at 12:36 am

    Hi sparky,
    thank you for the comment on my blog. I do check your blog from time to time too so I guess putting a link to your blog was in order. You’re now stuck on my blogroll :-) Thanx for reading my blog

  2. Sandy Sue
    March 12, 2011 at 8:25 am

    I was a little nervous when I found your blog. ECT destroyed my life, so I have a hard time looking at it objectively. I know it has helped others, but that wasn’t my experience.
    I recently weaned off all medications and now manage my BPD cognitively. I try to use the illness as a path to greater consciousness. Hard work, but rewarding.
    Thank you for sharing your journey. We need all perspectives.

  3. yumers
    March 14, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    Dear Sandy Sue, thank you for finding my blog, and thanks for sharing your experience. I didn’t create the blog to be pro- or anti-ECT. I just wanted to chronicle my experiences as it happened. So, I hope I didn’t come across as some fervent supporter of ECT or anything, because that’s not what I’m trying to do.

    I hope you continue to do well, and please let me know how things are going!

    Thanks so much for your comment. I really do appreciate it.

  4. Anonymous
    July 21, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    I have just found you & am quite pleased. I am BP1 w/extreme rapid cycling, attachment disorder, ocd & ptsd. I am also a chronic insomniac & have sleep apnea. Guess I was “blessed:. :) I wasn’t officially diagnosed until i was 33 & i am now 44. I am lithium resistant & have extreme reactions to meds, so my options are fairly limited. I stink @ talk therapy b/c I can never allow myself 2 truly be honest. I even tell the therapist during our initial sessions that I’m manipulative & incapable of trust but they never seem to be able to bring me thru it. I’ve never considered ECT until I came across this. Your descriptions of your moods, daily experiences, etc. very much sounded familiar. I have no spt system & cope w/everything on my own as best I can-which isn’t great. The thing that has always scared me about ECT is the memory loss. I already have such a sketchy memory from meds & fibro fog that I fear becoming a drooling couch potato. sorry for such a long babble but this is truly the 1st arena that i’ve found that openly addresses this non-clinically. thx for listening.

  5. Cheryl Prax
    September 12, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    The UK government has recently introduced e-petitions online.
    Please sign this ‘Abolish ECT’ e-petition and relegate this barbaric ‘treatment’ to the history pages along with lobotomy. We need 100,000 signatures to get it debated in parliament.
    To sign an e-petition, you must be either:
    • a citizen of the UK
    • a resident in the UK (you normally live in the UK)
    It only takes a minute! Please pass this on.
    http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/16278
    Thank you for your help.

    

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