I'm in the middle of a course of ECT's newer, kinder, gentler cousin: trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The idea is similar. The brain is stimulated by magnetic pulses in place of electrodes, and there are no seizures. Every weekday morning, I go to a place where they strap on a helmet that hits me with a 2-second pulse every 20 seconds for about 20 minutes. They calibrate the power by testing your motor threshold. Mine was low, so I get relatively gentle pulses. Having declined the required offer of earplugs, I sit and chat with the tech and barely notice the knocking on my head. With chances for in-person socializing being hard to come by, I find my treatments to be rather pleasant.

The only side effects are mostly headaches and nausea, which are usually managed by just ramping up to full strength at the beginning. If you needed stronger pulses, I could imagine it being fairly uncomfortable. But no seizures means no anesthesia and no memory loss. Really, the main drawback is that it's time-consuming, and it's still not quite as effective as ECT. A typical course is 36 treatments administered 5-6 times per week. And insurance won't cover it unless you've tried a bunch of other stuff. Out of pocket, it costs a few grand.

I've started to feel it helping me, but the real test will be when I try to go off my antidepressants.