Ban this barbaric shock treatment

WHEN you know something is harmful and is damaging lives, the wrong thing to do is nothing. Despite the enlightened 21st century, that’s the situation that exists with the dressed-up torture procedure called ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

Also known as electroshock, psychiatrists claim the procedure is “new and improved” and “safer”, but that’s just marketing hype. Anaesthetics and paralysing agents are used to obscure the writhing convulsions and screams of the patient. They can make ECT appear less barbaric and more acceptable, but that’s only for the benefit of the person who’s watching.

For the person being shocked, there’s no difference. Psychiatrists claim that sending up to 460 volts of electricity through the brain to produce a grand mal seizure will “reset” or “reboot” the brain. It’s a theory that’s never been proven. In a heavily drugged and anaesthetised person, a greater quantity of electricity is required to induce a convulsion.

The increased current flow used in the “new and improved” ECT generates increased heat and can kill brain cells. Scans taken of ECT patients have shown scarring and brain shrinkage. One ECT session assaults the brain with 2,300 times more electricity than it needs to function, leading to severe trauma.

Since each patient is different, the amount of electricity needed to induce a seizure is different too. Many tries and many additional shocks may be needed, each carrying with it brain and organ damage.

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists website, there are 109 ECT clinics in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. From 2016-18, 5,165 people aged 16-98 were subjected to ECT.

In order to deflect responsibility for the harm and damage inflicted, psychiatrists blame the person’s “underlying mental illness”. But they have trouble explaining away the collateral damage to the rest of the body, like heart attacks and stroke.

Having been dressed up as “therapy”, this procedure has been accepted by governments around the world. So it is that the wrong thing to do is nothing and that’s why CCHR UK will continue to speak out and protest against this torture until it’s recognised as criminal assault and banned.

Brian Daniels

National Spokesperson, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (United Kingdom)