This link takes you to a video of a
TED talk that is about 20 minutes long. As
a warning, there is some vulgar language in the talk, but I think it is worth
watching anyway.
It is the story from a man who
emerged from a deep depression because of electroshock therapy. We discussed this in class the day before
Thanksgiving break, and I think some of our minds were blown by the idea. I myself have known about this therapy for a
while, and have discussed it in other classes and for some reason it has come
up in “casual” discussions with friends, but each time, I still have such a
hard time believing that it could work.
Believing that such a seemingly terrible experience to put someone
through could have such a positive effect on a person’s life. I have never known someone who has gone
through something like this, and still do not, but listening to this man talk
about his experience with it definitely brings the subject closer to home. When someone talks so passionately and
positively about his experience, it makes me believe more readily that it
works.
I think if
we knew how and why it worked, people would not attach such a negative stigma
to it, though. As Sherwin Newland
describes in the TEDtalk, the therapy came about as a type of exorcism for the
evils in the body. Long ago, it was
believed that evil spirits brought about these depressive issues, and to rid
people of them, they needed to be shaken from the body. They thought that the seizures that were
induced from herbs/drugs, and later electroshock therapy, is what rid people of
the burdens of depression. Though we
know now that depression is not caused by evil spirits, we still do not have an
answer to how sending jolts of electricity repeatedly through a person can
raise them from the depths of depression back to a practicing surgeon, for
example. We are taught as small children
not to stick a key into an electrical socket (a lesson I myself did not believe
from my parents, and had to learn through my own experience), but something
that simple, and “dangerous” could be the answer to bringing someone out of a
terrible situation. How is this
explained!?
What are the moral implications of
this type of therapy, if any? Do the
ends justify the means in this case? If
you read the comments below the talk, there are some stories of others who have
undergone similar treatments – some successful, and others less so. It was just incredible for me to see this man
talk about his experience, and I thought it was worth sharing. I hope you take the time to watch through the
whole thing, and let me know your thoughts through comments. You will also get points for the class J
I think electroshock therapy is still very controversial because people who have been through it seem to have mixed reviews and people who haven't been through it seem to be frightened by it. As with any kind of treatment, electroshock therapy probably doesn't work for everyone. The man in the video could have been in horrible pain during the treatment, but if his depression was cured, I bet it would seem worth it in the end. However, if the treatment didn't work for another patient, all they would be left with is the pain of the experience. Speaking personally as someone who has never experienced any kind of electroshock therapy, it seems like something that I would prefer to stay away from. If you take this instinctual fear of pain and couple it with the fact that, as you said, many people don't understand exactly why electroshock therapy works, I can definitely understand if this method is phased out in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree that electroshock therapy did, in fact, have a positive outcome on this man's life. I say this because he had been through years of depression and obsessive thinking, only to regain both his professional and personal life after the treatment. After watching the video, however, I too am skeptical as to how the electroshock therapy worked. As far as I can see, the doctor's that operated on him sent electricity through him and he began to convulse. I have no idea how this treatment cured depression. Perhaps if I saw an EEG reading before and after, showing differences in brain function, I would be better persuaded that electroshock therapy would be a useful procedure for now and the future.
ReplyDeleteEven in an earlier case that the speaker mentioned, the patient who was shocked just yelled out profanities at the doctors. This operation does however seem to have had a profound effect on the speaker. The fact that he's a doctor himself only adds to the credibility of the procedure. Nonetheless, the video was interesting and gives a compelling argument regarding the treatment of depression.