Can ECT Change Your Personality?

ECT, Memory, and Identity

In this episode, we explore a question I get asked often: can ECT change your personality?

Drawing on philosopher Patrick Seniuk’s 2018 paper, “I’m Shocked: Informed Consent in ECT and the Phenomenological Self,” we explore how ECT-related memory loss may do more than erase facts — it can disrupt the felt sense of being the same person over time.

We walk through patient accounts, share some personal reflections, and ask whether standard informed consent goes far enough in preparing patients for these changes.

SHOW NOTES

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zft2aX9UpBlMb0FC7YPOiaGd7kukr7Jc/view?usp=drive_link