11 - When Grief Breaks the Brain

Summary

Jennifer tells us the story of her mother who received ECT. She was a very resilient person, kept a job and looked after the children. Three bereavements during her life -- her husband, her sister, and later on, her son -- made her brain finally break down and she developed a severe depression in her old age. The final bereavement occurred during lockdown. They were one of the first families to experience trying to grieve and bury a loved one, whilst not being allowed to be together. Her mother’s depression worsened, and she became psychotic, believing that she will become financially destitute and also grossly obese. After four months in hospital, there was no improvement and she continued to decline. After the initial shock of hearing the suggestion about ECT, Jennifer researched the topic and the family agreed on the treatment. After eight sessions, her mother improved. This was not the end, as after a year, towards the anniversary of her son’s death, the depression came back. More treatments, including cold water therapy in Scottish lochs, but made no difference to her, and ECT was prescribed again. This time it took twelve sessions for it to work, but she is still well at the time of writing.