Shocking Humor
Though the subject of a New York Times article today is gallows humor, there’s something discomfiting in the way the author so casually mentions the treatment of ECT. After the patient makes a cute remark about the treatment, the author, a psych intern, writes:
If this were a friend or colleague, I would laugh easily. But this is a patient I barely know. He has bipolar disorder, a previous suicide attempt and a history of bizarre, impulsive behavior. In that context, his joke just feels inappropriate and overly familiar.
I’m taken aback. Is it O.K. to laugh, I wonder? An intern, with years of experience being inexperienced, I quickly glance around to take stock of the room.
The nursing assistant laughs and the anesthesiologist grins broadly. The attending psychiatrist remains stone-faced, and says, “Clearly he’s improving.” As the anesthesiologist injects a sedative, a telephone rings. Everyone’s hands are occupied; the ringing continues. Just as the patient starts to drift off, he looks over at me and says: “Can you get that? It might be the governor calling to stay my execution.”
A moment later, he’s out. The attending hands me the leads, and I feel slightly uncomfortable as I bring them to the patient’s head. The nurses are still laughing as he begins to convulse.
In Psychiatry, Can a Punch Line Be a Lifeline?
liz | 3:41 PM | Uncategorized
I remember many times, when the “experts” around me were trying to help me relax, making jokes – you know, when I give you this medicine you are going to tell me everything you ever did. How comforting. He was a creep and was only there one time.
Being put to sleep was a relief, but I never visualized the event until today.
I think what the author is getting at is that sometimes you need an “in” to help someone who isn’t able to see they need help. I don’t propose that humor be used routinely when treating individuals that experience mental illnes, but an outside of the box approach can sometimes be the “in” you need to help someone, or get the information needed to help someone when they need it most.
It’s refreshing to see a psych doc realizing that what psych patients need is to be treated like human beings. If we had been so treated previously, I doubt we’d have ended up in psych hospitals.
Excellent article. My schizophrenic brother makes the best jokes ever. Life often gives us a choice between laughing and crying. Take Door No. 1.
(He calls ECT “hitting my ‘reset’ button.”
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