From Leeches to Lobotomies: 11 Crazy Mental Illness Treatments
The word psychiatry originates from the Medieval Latin psychiatria, meaning “healing of the soul.” Many societies have viewed mental illness as a form of divine punishment or demon possession.
This has led to some very strange and unsettling things that have been prescribed to heal mental illness throughout the ages, such as leeches, lobotomies, and even exorcism. The history of psychiatry is filled with weird treatments.
Some very strange and unsettling things that have been prescribed to heal mental illness throughout the ages, such as leeches, lobotomies, and even exorcism.
In this blog, you’ll take a fascinating journey through the history of psychiatric treatments. Here are 11 of the craziest.
11 WEIRD MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENTS
- Carving a Hole in Your Head
- Exorcism
- Sterilization
- Bloodletting with Leeches
- Purging with Poison
- Stimulants, such as tea and coffee, ginger, and black pepper in large doses
- Magnesia
- Mustard rubs
- Hot baths to induce sweating followed by cold baths
- Exercise
- Spinning in a Gyrating Chair
- Animal Magnetism
- Inducing Fevers
- Triggering Insulin Seizures
- Lobotomy
- Shock Therapy
- Lifestyle changes—eating a healthy diet, exercising, meditating, and more
- Noninvasive techniques—neurofeedback, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), and more
- Psychotherapy—cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and more




