11. Electroconvulsive Therapy (Early Forms)
Before the development of modern electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), 19th-century asylums experimented with rudimentary shock treatments. Electrical currents were applied to patients’ heads or bodies, often without anesthesia, understanding, or consent. These crude procedures frequently resulted in pain, burns, and serious injury. Rather than offering relief, early shock therapies were traumatic and unpredictable, reflecting the desperation—and ignorance—of practitioners to control symptoms with whatever means available.
