Beating (err whipping) depression and addiction

An old story I know, but it’s quite an unconventional way to tackle depression! According to Pravda in 2005 scientists from Novosibirsk made a sensational report at an international conference devoted to new methods of treatment and rehabilitation in narcology called “Methods of painful impact to treat addictive behaviour.” According to the report addiction, depression, and psychosomatic diseases occur when an individual loses his or her interest in life. This is caused by decreased endorphin production. If a depressed individual receives physical punishment it will stir up endorphin receptors, activate the “production of happiness” and eventually remove depressive feelings.

Russian scientists recommend the following course of the whipping therapy: 30 sessions of 60 whips on the buttocks in every procedure. A group of drug addicts volunteered to test the new method of treatment: the results can be described as good and excellent. Doctor of Biological Sciences, Sergei Speransky, is one of the authors of the whipping therapy. The professor apparently used the self-flagellation method to cure his own depression; he also recovered from two heart attacks with the help of physical tortures too.

”The whipping therapy becomes much more efficient when a patient receives the punishment from a person of the opposite sex. The effect is astounding: the patient starts seeing only bright colours in the surrounding world, the heartache disappears, although it will take a certain time for the buttocks to heal, of course,” he said.

The whipping therapy is not new: Soviet specialists used a special method of torturing therapy at mental hospitals (so not just in the gulags?) . They made injections of brimstone and peach oil mixture to inspire mentally unbalanced patience with a will to live. A patient would suffer from horrible pain in the body after such an injection, but he or she would change their attitude to life for the better afterwards. ”People might probably think of me as a masochist,” Dr. Speransky said. “But I can assure you that I am not a classic masochist at all,” he added.

Hmmm: Prozac or a good thrashing.....I somehow think most would opt for the former rather than the latter. I suppose Leopold von Sacher Masoch might have looked forward to being a bit low though!