shock therapy

noun

Definition of shock therapy

: the treatment of mental illness by the artificial induction of coma or convulsions through use of drugs or electric current

— called also shock treatment

Examples of shock therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Additional rates apply for treatments including massages, cryo facial, T-shock therapy, contour light and endermologie (body contouring). — Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2022 And the intimacy here between this audience and this comedian differs from the national shock therapy from a few weeks before. — New York Times, 19 Apr. 2022 But the response was to have to give her electric shock therapy. — Wilson Chapman, Variety, 15 Apr. 2022 His parents increasingly relied on electricity—cardioversion for his father’s unreliable heart, shock therapy for his mother’s brain, a wire for self-awareness. — Thomas Mcguane, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021 The problem is the timing of the Fed's shock therapy. — Damon Linker, The Week, 15 Mar. 2022 Paul Volcker’s shock therapy brought down inflation and made fiscal borrowing more acceptable to bond markets; meanwhile, the structural decline in growth rates enhanced the willingness of politicians to lean against sluggish growth. — Paul Swartz, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2022 Concern grew over reports of poor treatment, abuse, lobotomies and electric shock therapy. — Michael Smolens Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2022 Some of the most extreme measures have included electric shock therapy, hormone regimens, physical abuse and internment. — Washington Post, 9 Dec. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shock therapy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for shock therapy

Last Updated

11 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Shock therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shock%20therapy. Accessed 23 May. 2022.

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