Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)

photo prompt © J. Hardy Carrol

Nurses chased Carla round the room. “Take the pill Carla” one of the nurses hissed but Carla was frightened. She knew what happened. The nurse’s long arms shot out and grabbed her, pinning her so she couldn’t resist as the pill was forced to the back of her tongue and water poured down her throat. Twenty minutes later she was terrified, the beast was chasing her then she lost consciousness as her limbs began to twitch.

“I am never having that again,” Carla told the doctor a few days later. 

“No you don’t have to. We have a new electric treatment.”

Thank you to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers and J.Hardy Carrol for the use of the photograph.

The canopies on the ride reminded me of apparatus applied to the head (in movies) that alter the mind from there I was taken to this story. It was found that depression was eased by seizures and initially to induce these they used a drug called Metrazol.  The unfortunate side effect of this drug was that just before the seizure started an immense terror was felt by the patient. So much so that once experienced patients would do anything not to go through it again. Hence another way a causing seizures was sought and ECT  became the treatment of choice despite the fear that it too generated.