Dear God, Are You Serious?

Thanks to Susan S. for sending me an article about China using shock therapy to “cure” Internet addicts. It’s really hard to believe. From Yahoo! Finance:

Linyi Mental Health Hospital in eastern Shandong province used the treatment as part of a four-month program that has so far treated nearly 3,000 youths, the China Youth Daily newspaper has reported, citing the psychiatrist who runs it, Yang Yongxin.

The specifics of the treatment come from the Guardian UK:

According to the Beijing News, Yang said he had created the unique “xingnao” (”brain-waking”) therapy which involved sending a small current through the brain. He added that the stimulation might cause pain but was very safe and would not harm children in any way.

An earlier report by the Information Times claimed patients received electroconvulsive therapy if they broke any of the centre’s rules, which included eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal and sitting on Yang’s chair without permission. It said parents had to sign a contract acknowledging their child would be given ECT before admission.

Hmm. Why do I get the feeling this Dr. Yang fellow has some control issues?

The Guardian also asked a young victim about his experience. It doesn’t sound like he was given anesthesia. Nor does it sound like ECT was used therapeutically.

“It was really painful – just like a needle piercing through my brain,” he said.

…

“I can’t remember how many times [they gave me shocks], but it must have been dozens. They would let me rest for a while then give me another. The session lasted about half an hour,” he said.

“I struggled and tried to get up and they said it meant I still did not agree to stay so they gave me more shocks for another half an hour … I agreed to stay because I really couldn’t stand any more of it.”

He received ECT six or seven times at the hospital, mostly for a few minutes at a time.

“I think at the beginning they just wanted to create fear so you would follow orders. The shocks were punishment if I did anything wrong,” he said.

When he tried to escape, he was subjected to another half hour of ECT.

…

“The treatment should last four months, but my father started to think it was all a con,” he said. “He realised that in the classes no one could express opinions contrary to what they were told. Also, when I told him how painful the shocks were and he saw himself how young people grimaced before they went into that room, his heart ached for me.”

Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? But let’s not get all self-righteous about China’s human rights violations. I have a feeling this kind of thing happens in corners of the U.S. too.

liz | 3:08 PM | electroshock (ECT)