ELECTROSHOCK:
Restoring the Mind
by Max Fink
This book is a perfect example of stupidity
parading as "science" and "legitimate research". Fink is considered an
authority by the psychiatric profession, because, obviously he promotes
everything they want to hear. When psychiatrists believe what Fink has
to say say here about ECT, they then have the "professional" justification
to endorse the ECT party-line, and thereby increase their incomes and power
over the lives of others.
Every once in awhile it is good to pick up
and read a book by a deluded person (like Fink), who successfully poses
as an authority, to get a firm grasp on how absurd and ridiculous ideas,
theories and practices come to be accepted and endorsed by seemingly intelligent
people. Fink presents page after page of "evidence", "facts" and "results
of research" which aim to make a "sensible" case for zapping the brains
of human beings.
The reviews below are as deluded as Fink
himself, and are left as written to show how seemingly intelligent people
can actually be completely disconnected from honest observation, reality
and any sense of human decency. A total lack of these three factors is
necessary
for an endorsement of psychiatry in any of it's forms.
ECT is electrocuting the brain and intentionally
inducing a grand mal seizure. It is intentionally inducing a coma of sorts.
It is intentionally causing brain dysfunction and damage. THIS is somehow
imagined, twisted and "reasoned" into being a "cure" for some "mental disorder".
The abundance of pseudo-scientific theories attempting to explain ECT is
overshadowed only by it's utter barbarism. A reviewer below actually states
that the book will help the patient achieve "peace-of-mind" about submitting
to ECT! It seems that a slick facade of "intellectual", "scientific" and
"logical" is able to convince anyone of anything these days.
This author turns what is actually a degraded, decadent and destructive
practice into an "uplifting" experience. Again, read such a book to see
first-hand how completely insane modern people can really be in their beliefs,
actions, and promotions of destructive "therapies" and "treatments".
Certain people can be so confused, depressed,
suicidal or psychotic that the mental dullness, spiritual numbness, memory
loss and emotional stifling of ECT may seem better in comparison.
But there is no cure of anything and never will be.
Only in psychiatry would or could a "Ph.D"
state that ECT will return people to wellness! In fact, if you hit
20 depressives or suicidals in the head with a baseball bat, some
of them would claim to be "cured" and "feel better" afterwards. Let's try
that next. But that says more about the pitiful state of the current human
condition than about the efficacy of ECT! This is the level of "science"
involved in psychiatry. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise
- it is nothing else.
Scott Jones (saustinj@gj.net)
from Grand Junction, Colorado, August 17, 1999
An outstanding book that covers all bases
A long-overdue book about the most overlooked
treatment in the field of Psychotherapy. Dr. Fink has put together an informative
and entertaining guide that is valuable to both the patient and the Psychiatrist.
I read it through once then turned around and read it again. Dr. Fink uses
many actual case studies to illustrate the benefits of ECT. He also presents
a history of ECT that seeks to explain ECT's underuse today. Theories about
how ECT works are presented and difficult topics are made much simpler
for the layperson (or patient) to understand. Finally, a detailed description
of what to expect when undergoing ECT will give the new patient peace-of-mind.
This book should be given to all new patients and should be a staple in
every Psychiatrist's office.
amedelson@topnet.net from
New York, NY , July 23, 1999
A notably concise and understandable
patient/family guide.
This refreshingly candid and uplifting book
by the world's foremost psychiatric authority on electroshock therapy is
remarkable for its clarity and utility. It is written as a guide for patients
and their families who seek a balanced and informed perspective on this
treatment mode in its modern form. It is a tragedy that patients who have
failed adequately to respond to psychotherapy or drugs are often reluctant
to avail themselves of this now safe and effective treatment, thus losing
years out of their lives, and, all too often, life itself, through suicide.
This book should help to move society beyond the old "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest" stereotype about electroshock and to open its eyes to a
still under-utilized treatment for a number of major psychiatric illnesses
that often receive inadequate treatment today. It is also a book that in
many instances patients should give to their physicians to open their minds
to this treatment strategy. I was especially impressed by the case histories
presented in the book. Obviously, there are untold numbers of patients
who have failed to respond to "standard" treatments but who might be returned
to wellness if only they were given the chance in time. - Alan M. Edelson,
Ph.D.
|
