shock therapy
8
5.1
- noun
- /ʃɑk ˈθɛrəpi/
- Specialized
:
terapia de electroshock
- A package of emergency legislation referred to as "shock therapy," designed to restore macroeconomic stability and create a market system, was adopted and implemented without any significant input from the trade unions.
- electric shock therapy
You, this is essentially going to be your life where you're on this course of medications and shock therapy and so on.
- You, this is essentially going to be your life where you're on this course of medications and shock therapy and so on.
Examples
-
They had tried everything: shock therapy, hydrotherapy, lithium.
Fiction book (1995) -
Gaidar was still in his thirties when Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, tapped him to lead the Russian government as it implemented the shock therapy program that freed prices and turned Russia into a market economy.
Academic text (2010) -
And I tell you that shock therapy is too strong for him in his present state.
-
Jackie obviously has deep issues and needs shock therapy.
Blog text (4) -
First of all, because it was silent; horrible images of people being given electric shock therapy and so on.
Academic text (2010) -
She'd had all this... electric shock therapy and... her hair looked grey and I couldn't believe it.
-
"My dad underwent shock therapy for depression when Nolan and I were in grade school.
Fiction book (2002) -
Electroconvulsive therapy, commonly known as shock therapy, is often used to treat severe depression when other treatments fail.
-
After numerous unsuccessful treatments, the doctor recommended shock therapy as a last resort for his mental health issues.
-
Many patients report improvement in their symptoms after undergoing shock therapy for severe mood disorders.
Synonyms
16
7.5
A medical treatment that uses a strong electric current through the brain to cause seizures to treat serious mental illness
7
7.0
A medical treatment that sends a strong electric shock to the brain to treat severe depression
6
5.1
A medical treatment that uses a strong electric current through the brain to treat serious mental illness
4
5.8
A medical procedure that uses electric shocks to the brain to help severe mental illness
1
6.5
A medical treatment using brief electric shocks to the brain to reduce severe depression symptoms
1
8.9
A medical treatment that sends small electric pulses to the brain for severe depression or other serious mental illness
A medical treatment that uses large doses of insulin to cause seizures and coma, formerly used for serious mental illness
A past treatment for mental illness that used large insulin doses to cause fits and coma
A medical treatment using Metrazol to cause seizures and coma
A medical treatment from the past that gave injections to cause strong seizures to treat mental illness
A medical treatment that uses a drug to cause seizures and coma
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'shock' (an electric/physical jolt) with 'therapy' (medical treatment) to denote a treatment that uses shocks; this meaning is directly inferable from the constituents. The construction is compositionally transparent and mirrors equivalent terms in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand the MWE's basic meaning.
Etymology
The phrase shock therapy comes from an old medical treatment in which doctors gave quick electric shocks to a patient's brain as a kind of therapy. Because it used sudden shocks to try to change the mind, the name now means 'a treatment using shocks'.