Shock therapy, that was the treatment of old days, and it’s still used now to be honest.  They give it different names now sometimes to make it seem more appealing.  It’s not like the old movies where they look like they’re being electrocuted.  From what I understand, they still do actually put something in your mouth to keep your tongue from rolling back.  But you stay pretty still the whole time, and it really isn’t a horrible experience as it used to be. 

Many advocates against depression treatment of any kind who are backing the idea that it is just in your imagination actually went through experiences with the old electroshock therapy.  It has been known to damage memory in general, and of course, there were some people who didn’t actually have depression and had another disorder that would not respond to that kind of therapy at all.  They obviously didn’t have it perfected, and to some degree they still don’t.  At this point, it’s not commonly used, nor should it be.  And while depression drugs come with side effects of their own for some, realistically it’s not a reason to give up on it all together.