10 Facts You Need to Know about the Dangers of Electroshock

The idea of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) developed in 1938 as a “treatment” to make humans more docile, and this barbaric practice is still being used today.
The idea of electroshock came from psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti (above), who saw pigs in Italy become more docile and therefore easier to slaughter after electroshock.
The idea of electroshock came from psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti (above), who saw pigs in Italy become more docile and therefore easier to slaughter after electroshock.

These are the facts you need to know to help ban the use of electroconvulsive therapy:

  1. Electroshock was invented by Italian psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti in 1938 after seeing pigs electric shocked before slaughter, making them more docile before being killed. This inspired him to try the same “treatment” on humans.
  2. More than 80 years after its invention, psychiatrists admit they still don’t know how it “works.” Among the proposed theories is that ECT “caused a good kind of brain damage.”
  3. Psychiatrists claim modern ECT is not as barbaric as the electroshock depicted in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. But the voltage of modern ECT is higher than it was during that era (1960s) when patients’ bones used to break from violent convulsions during the “treatment.”
  4. Today patients rarely suffer broken bones because muscle “relaxants” are first administered, making ECT appear less brutal. The muscle relaxant itself can be highly dangerous, however, documented to cause cardiac arrest and potentially life-threatening and/or fatal allergic reactions.
  5. Modern electroshock treatment delivers a pulse of current to the brain that is 7.5 times stronger than electrical fences used to deter bears.
  6. Yet psychiatrists lobby its increased use on children.
More than 80 years after its invention, psychiatrists admit they still don’t know how it “works.”
  1. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) requested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators broaden the clearance for using ECT on children.
  2. Through Freedom of Information Act requests in the US, it was shown that 19 states are currently electroshocking children, with 7 states shocking children between the ages of 0 and 5.
  3. The World Health Organization states, “There are no indications for the use of ECT on minors, and hence this should be prohibited through legislation.”
  4. Electroshock is also being used on pregnant women with one study showing the infant mortality rate was 7.1 percent. The FDA has never required any clinical trials proving safety or efficacy of treatment.