In the 1960s at the time of The Bell Jar, so little was fully known that Esther is simply considered to be “insane.” She stays in an “insane asylum” where she is not so much treated but managed and controlled. It was not until the 1990’s many of these expansive asylums were completely overhauled into modern medical centers or closed because of underuse, underfunding or scandal. (Pelayo, C.).  The insane asylums of this time became the psychiatric hospitals of today.
Esther receives a series of shock treatments which was very common back then and used much more recklessly than they are today. The ‘shock treatment’ referred to is known as ECT or Electroconvulsive therapy, a form of psychiatric treatment (usually for major depression) which was developed during the 1930’s. It involves the inducing of seizures in a patient through the administration of electric shock to the brain via electrodes placed on either side of the head.  (Wikipedia). Ester says “Doctor Gordon was fitting two metal plates on either side of my head. He buckled them into place with a strap that dented my forehead, and gave me a wire to bite”. (p. 143).
Nowadays, patients receiving ECT are given a short-acting anesthetic and a muscle relaxant to prevent a full-blown seizure occurring. However, during the 1940’s through 1960’s, ECT was often given in its ‘unmodified’ form without anesthesia or muscle relaxants. (Wikipedia). It is this primitive form of ECT which Esther received. Later in the reading we get a sense that these treatments weren’t quite administered with accuracy and purpose. When Esther told Dr. Nolan how she did not like Dr. Gordon because of “what he did to her” (p. 189) referring to the ECT, Dr. Nolan replied by saying “That was a mistake and it is not supposed to be like that”. (p.189). It seemed more as though Dr. Gordon tried to shock and shake Esther back to the world of the sane. We can understand her experience when she says, “Then something bent down and took hold of me and shook me like the end of the world”. (p. 143). Sadly, people didn’t really know enough about the brain, mental illness, and psychiatry to truly be helpful back then. Electroconvulsive therapy does exist today, however it’s not like the shock treatments to which Esther was subjected to.
Article Reference :  Pelayo, Cythia, Retrieved from  http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/abandoned-insane-asylums
This is an interesting topic. I have never thought that much about ECT. And really never realized that this was used for psychiatric treatments. I wonder if Esther would have disliked this treatment as much if the new changes such as anesthesia were already in place. It’s weird to think of what types of treatments are available to “help” depressed patients.