Previous photo North Wales Hospital (Denbigh Asylum) | The Castle and the Asylum Next photo

Electroconvulsive Therapy

I wasn't expecting to see this sign in the hallway...
comments

Please remember that the comments posted here are not the opinions of opacity.us or its affiliates.

Ahhh... 10,000 WATTS will do ya...
Whats that?
Conductant.
A little dab will do ya.
Shocking!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay I know that was bad!! but funny :-)
:rimshot:

yep that was bad
why do the Ramos's come to mind.
Hello Mr Llwellyn time for your booster buzz.
signage in case someone gets lost on their way for to the "treatment room"
Anyone notice the edge details on the joists?
Mathue: I saw that too....I would guess that the ceiling was added sometime later. and that the trusses where exposed when it was a new building.
I know ECT is still used but it puts me in mind of Bedlam hospital.Especially since some of those who have it performed on them have it done against their will.If you need up in a facility like this your deemed not able to be responsable for your treatment and you lose the right to say no.
the black and white (or infared, whatever you used...) makes it look really, really creepy...you can just imagine someone in a wheelchair looking up as they're rolled past...whether they want to go or not...having no say in the matter..just...watching the sign pass....
Maybe it means something else like Extremely Cuddly Teddy's...pick yours up today. Now that's what I call treatment.
My Grandmother had E.C.T. in the past. She said that it was painful and her head hurt her for days afterwards, migrain type pain. Sometimes she said it would be so bad she couldn't hardly breath without it racking her brain with pain. She would be extremely light sensitive and not be able to think clearly or remember stuff normally for weeks. It didn't help her schizophrenia either, it actually made it worse after a week or so after her E.C.T. session(s). She also mentioned something that I hadn't really heard anyone mention before, her fingers and toes would tingle like when they have fallen asleep and are "waking up".
I was petrified when the doctor wanted to use ECT on me since i had a distant relative who had it done when i was young and she lost the power of speach for about 6 months,had muscle spasms and has short term memory problems even today years later.
Beats coffee in the morning I spose
My Mother too endured ect, it very much effected her memory. After some visits she was schocked to learn she was married and had a little girl. At six I was hurt of course I couldn't understand.
ECT actually causes a seizure and used to be quite dangerous because they didn't give people any medication beforehand, so there was a risk of them breaking their backs or other bones. Now it is much safer and people are given a sedative and I believe also a muscle relaxer to prevent them from breaking bones. Still doesn't sound much fun, though, but for some people it's the only thing that helps.
Extremely sad.
Wow...You wouldn't expect this to be announced out in the open...
electroconvulsive therapy part one..............

GO KID>>>>GO KID>>>>GO KID


a lil game ot lighten the mood
ECT sure beats the deuce out of older stuff, though. insulin? Metrazol anybody? I'm sure I have a leucotome somewhere...
all joking aside, there are tons of medical procedures and "treatments" that were cutting edge that we consider barbaric today. Perspective is a funny thing... Especially when one's perspective happens to be the face of the person about to zap your brain with a 400v electric shock.
I'd like to clarify that I don't condone involuntary ECT.
This ect. is pathetic. I just can't deal with this. This kind of mental illness and being homeless are my tow greatest fears in life.
ECT in the roof ?
i had a look round there the other night its freaky
Bright side being that next time you're seeing it pass by you won't remember where it leads...
Well that's not a very bright bright side.

I once got numb fingers after accidently brushing against an uncapped light switch wire... I also lost my tracks for a moment there.
I don't to want to even imagine that feeling multiplied...
Yes sir, nothing like shock therapy to calm the nerves. Mmmm, gotta love those involuntary contortions.
A place like that could put an extra curl in someone's hair!
One of the scariest times in my life was when my mother wanted me to have ECT. She looked up one of the few psychiatrists in our area who actually still performed the procedure and dragged me along. Luckily for me, the doctor gave a strong negative when my mother suggested the procedure. I wanted to hug that man that day.
got in here ourselves it was great
Amazing. Patients were at one time threatened with ECT (without sedative or muscle relaxant) if they were being disruptive. Hopefully that doesnt happen these days!
Wow the comments on this one... I feel for you all
Of all the bizarre therapies of bygone years, ECT is one of the few with merit. It's still used, mainly for those with depressive disorders, when they don't respond adequately to medication.
i went to the castle after dark but couldnt find a way into the asylum, is the left dirt track by the small clinic by the castle ??

email.bk to maldred9@aol.com
Dr Hughes worked in ECT
yeah they use a form or ect at work. though today they prolly use meds and such and not that strong of a current. and prolly for a few seconds at a time. its sad to hear some of ur storys...
oh geez . this picture is electrofying .
(:
They still use that barbaric punishment today? In THIS day and age?
.........................................
ECT is still used
This is so scary, my mums aunt was a patient here must have been 30- 40 years ago or something like that, and she received electric shock therapy. She was in there for what we now know was post natal depression, but it was never diagnosed. She committed suicide soon after being released, after giving birth to her 4th child, when her husband refused to let her be sterilised. (her youngest son still thinks it's his fault). It should never have happened. This picture sends a shiver down my spine.
I visited this website after spending the past week watching most haunted on living tv's halloween special who visited the hospital to search for the paranormal. The photographs are amazing but sad at the same time I hate seeing beautiful buildings like this go to waste when they could've been transformed into something of use instead of being left to rot like this and the cost to renovate them now would be too much for anyone to consider buying them without demolishing the buildings for the land alone. As a child I went to a school opposite a hospital just like this one that had been closed I often used to wonder at the age of 10 what could be done with it even back then. they have kept the listed buildings and turned the site into housing which is not ideal but better than losing it altogether. I suffer from epilepsy and take medication which controls it but it sends a shiver down my spine to think that 100 years ago instead of going to school opposite I would've been sent to High Royds to endure the pain of shock therapy and not come out. I think it is important to keep the memories of places like this alive as a tribute to the people who lived and died there. I for one will not forget. I suggest you visit their site at www.highroyds.com
I've had ECT used on me several times. I have schizoaffective disorder and it was the only thing that could pull me out of a very deep depressive episode and worked much more reliably and quickly than any medication.

I do have some memory loss from that time, but it was done with anethesia and the worst side effects I ever suffered were just some mild jaw pain or headaches. The side effects of my depressions were far worse.

It also was a lot safer treatment for my depressive episodes when I was pregnant, when I had it done 2 or 3 times with intubation to help prevent any aspiration due to a weaker stomach.

Yes, it used to be a torture, but now it has come back as a lifesaving treatment for those who simply don't respond that well to medications.
High Royds ? Luckily now the only pain I get is Hemma Roids
uhm, nice walls. I like that place :)
I still believe that ECT is a barbaric, worhtless practice. I think patients were actually frightened into behaving in a desired fashion rather than that the "treatments" were actually beneficial. That's why the "positive'" effects were at best temporary. Yeah, today they use sedatives. I think this is because of the guilt the practitioners would otherwise feel in a modern world. The whole idea of shocking a person into normalcy I think is a stupid, elememtary idea and I wish it were made illegal and all those subjected to it had legal recourse against any quack sadist that used/uses it.
I have heard very few people compliment ECT. Mostly I just hear the people who still perform it advocate for it... they must justify themselves for their peace of mind.
But when I think of it, is it really better to go through a treatment that is worse than the illness? It's like what my Taokwondo teacher used to do when I said I had a headache: she would punch me in the arm, so I forgot about the first pain by concentrating on the second. How futile is that.
On the other hand, how difficult is to speak against it. If you are insane or mentally unstable, no one will take your word about how it does not help you. And if you become sane and then tell on the doctors, they will say it was their treatment that cured you. Mostly, I think people are made believe it does. Going to the psychologist wasn't doing anything for me, but I was convinced it did for a long while. It may have helped in some aspects, and in others made it all worse. For example, I still have a major problem saying no. I also, on account of the experience, became very co-dependant.

Comments pertaining to real location names, methods of entering the property, promotions or advertisements, off-topic discussion and general flaming, as well as those submitted under various aliases are subject to immediate deletion and your ip address being banned from this website. By submitting your comment you agree to these terms. Visit the forum for off-topic and general discussion. To prevent your comment from being removed and to help keep this site uncluttered, please read more about comments on opacity.

Memories and stories from past employees, visitors or patients are gratefully welcomed, they help keep these places alive!

 
Previous photo North Wales Hospital (Denbigh Asylum) | The Castle and the Asylum Next photo