What is psychological torture?
Psychological torture is a type of torture that relies primarily on psychological effects, and only secondarily on any physical harm inflicted.
What is it like to be a victim of torture?
Victims may be able to describe the torture they have endured, or they may fear doing so. In many cases of ritual abuse and mind control trauma, the abuse remains dissociated when the individual first seeks treatment.
Should we encourage people to torture others?
Research during the past 60 years, starting with the Milgram experiment, suggests that under the right circumstances, and with the appropriate encouragement and setting, most people can be encouraged to actively torture others.
What is distorted vision and how is it treated?
Distorted vision is an eye condition that makes straight lines appear wavy and objects appear bent or misshapen. It can be challenging to live with, as regular objects are difficult to identify and see clearly.
What are the symptoms of psychological torture?
People who have been tortured can have a range of symptoms, including:Headaches.Shaking or trembling muscles.Hearing loss.Vision problems.Sleeping problems.Anxiety attacks.Nervousness.Irritability.More items...
What is torture syndrome?
A post-torture complex characterised by a range of residua—e.g., extreme anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, phobias and suspicion of others; the end-stage is termed 'post-traumatic cerebral syndrome'
What is torture treatment?
Torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment violate human dignity and are absolutely prohibited at all times and under all circumstances. Torture is the intentional infliction of severe mental or physical pain or suffering, by or with the approval of state agents.
What are the after effects of torture?
Long-term psychological problems reported by survivors of torture are usually classified as trauma, anxiety, depression, and, more rarely, problems of a psychotic nature, but health problems including pain are very frequent, and may include serious disease such as tuberculosis or human immunodeficiency virus with a ...
What happens to the brain during torture?
The altered synapses and cells, the continual and perpetual reabsorption of key neurotransmitters change the person completely, affecting a state of depression. In a sense, a brain that has reached the point of learned helplessness is a brain in a near permanent state of torture.
Why do people become torturers?
Sometimes authorities torture a person to extract a confession for a crime, or to get information from them. Sometimes torture is simply used as a punishment that spreads fear in society. Torture methods vary. They can be of a physical nature, like beatings and electric shocks.
What is the most cruel form of torture?
But for those who are still interested, here's a list of some of the most gruesome torture (mostly followed by execution) methods ever recorded.Judas Cradle. ... Blood Eagle. ... Tickle Torture. ... Swedish Drink. ... Brazen Bull. ... White Torture. ... Breast Ripper. ... Pear of Anguish.More items...
How do you survive psychological torture?
The best way to cope is to speak with your pain. Make pain your friend in an environment in which you have no friends. Use the pain to remind you of who you are. Sleep deprivation poses the most difficult obstacle to overcoming torture.
Is it possible to recover from torture?
Torture causes long-lasting mental and physical pain. It can take many years for someone to recover from it.
Can torture cause hallucinations?
Detainees are often held for months, or even years. The effects of white torture are well-documented in a number of testimonials. Typically, prisoners will become depersonalized by losing personal identity for extended periods of isolation; causing hallucinations, or even psychotic breaks.
What is the difference between torture and inhuman treatment?
"Torture" has been defined as "deliberate inhuman treatment causing very serious and cruel suffering". The degree of suffering is the main difference between torture and inhuman treatment, but it also has to be deliberate, for example, to extract information or to intimidate.
What is the difference between torture and cruelty?
Cruel or inhuman (synonymous terms) treatment consists of acts which cause serious pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, or which constitute a serious outrage upon individual dignity. Unlike torture, these acts do not need to be committed for a specific purpose.
What is meant by inhuman treatment?
Inhuman treatment or punishment is treatment which causes intense physical or mental suffering. It includes: serious physical assault. psychological interrogation. cruel or barbaric detention conditions or restraints.
What does freedom from torture and degrading treatment mean?
Article 15, Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
How does torture break the will of a person?
Anyone who has worked or been a patient on a psychiatric ward has witnessed daily attempts to break the will of patients by limiting their freedom and activities, treating them like children, making threats, using physical restraint and isolation, and ultimately inflicting drugs and electroshocks that render the individual helpless . The most profound impact of neuroleptic (antipsychotic) drugs is to render the individual indifferent, apathetic and docile; but the drugs commonly continue to inflict physical and mental torment.
What is the effect of involuntary treatment on people?
Involuntary treatment humiliates and demoralizes people, reinforcing their feelings of being worthless, powerless, and helpless. It leads to outrage, which is then crushed by psychiatric drugs.
Why do we need to stop involuntary treatment?
In addition to the human rights and Constitutional reasons, here are some further reasons to do away with involuntary treatment: First, very few people labelled “mentally ill” actually become violent. Rates of criminal violence in this group do not exceed the general population.
Why do people go to a psychiatrist?
Going to a psychiatrist, or to other healthcare providers, exposes the already distressed individual to the risk of incarceration and forced treatment with little or no due process. When feeling helpless and overwhelmed, seeking psychiatric treatment can turn into the most dangerous mistake of a person’s life.
Is involuntary psychiatric treatment unconstitutional?
It is an assault on basic human rights, but it is not unconstitutional–the 13th Amendment never abolished slavery.
Is it worse to be injected with psychiatric drugs?
Undergoing forcibly injected psychiatric drugs is worse than drug-free imprisonment in jail where at least your mind and spirit are free. The neuroleptic drugs crush the mind and spirit, in the extreme producing a zombie–like existence.
Is forced treatment better than jail?
Log in to leave a comment. Forced treatment like court ordered therapy is much better than jail for one thing, and two there is a fear of psychiatry that resulted from the Reagan era, where the hospitals to the mentally ill were under funded and real torture and neglect happened.
What is vision loss?
Vision loss often results in significant disability and is associated with a substantial economic burden, reduced quality-of-life, concurrent medical issues, and mental health problems. In this review, the mental health needs of people with vision impairment are examined.
What is the relationship between mental health and vision impairment?
The Nature of the Relationship Between Vision Impairment and Mental Health. People with vision impairment may experience mental health difficulties for a variety of reasons. Included among these is the emotional distress that is associated with losing one’s sight.
What is PST treatment?
Problem-solving treatment (PST) may also be beneficial for individuals with vision impairment. PST is a manualized intervention that involves learning skills such as how to define problems, establish realistic goals, generate, choose, and implement solutions, and, finally, evaluate outcomes. 143, 144 PST is a brief intervention that can be delivered by non-specialists (ie, general practitioners, nurses) and thus has applicability for primary care settings. 143, 145 Randomized controlled trials in general psychiatric samples indicate that PST is equally as effective as antidepressant medication alone, and the combination of PST and antidepressant medication in managing depressive symptoms. 146 In a randomized control trial comparing the effects of PST to usual care, PST was more effective in preventing depression in older adults with AMD after two months, but the difference between the interventions was no longer significant after six months. 144, 147 Thus, PST may delay the onset of depression in people with AMD, however, additional sessions or booster treatments may be necessary in order to prevent the emergence of depression as time goes on and the condition worsens. 144, 147 Additionally, another study found that 6–8 sessions of PST delivered to older adults with vision loss and significant (ie, moderate-to-severe) depressive symptoms led to a reduction in depressive symptom scores, but the change was not clinically significant. 120 Nevertheless, PST may offer several advantages over other treatment approaches. For example, in many cases PST is delivered by Master’s or Bachelor’s level clinicians or nurses (eg, 48, 102, 144 ), thereby expanding patient access to treatment. More recently, PST was delivered to individuals with vision impairment and significant depressive symptoms via phone (ie, telehealth). 148 After three months, participants reported significant improvement in depressive symptom severity, health-related quality-of-life, and confidence in using problem-focused coping skills. 148 Additionally, one mechanism by which PST may be effective is by encouraging continuation of valued activities. 144 This is an important aspect of treatment given the association between functional decline and depression in people with vision loss. 36, 42, 102 In comparison to supportive therapy, PST demonstrated similar outcomes in terms of activity engagement, self-reported visual function, physical health status, and depressive symptom severity in people with AMD. However, PST has led to greater improvements in vision-related quality-of-life and increased use of adaptive coping strategies at 3- and 6-months post-treatment. 149 Notably, while PST and supportive therapy are similar, PST is unique in its incorporation of problem-solving skills training. Thus, learning effective methods for solving problems may be especially beneficial for people with vision loss ( Table 2 ).
How does cognitive behavioral therapy help with AMD?
In one study, a single component of cognitive behavioral treatment, behavioral activation, in conjunction with low vision rehabilitation was significantly more effective in preventing depression in patients with AMD compared with supportive therapy combined with low vision rehabilitation. 153 A follow-up mediation analysis demonstrated that improvement in depression scores following behavioral activation and low vision rehabilitation was explained by an increase in social engagement. 153 Self-guided CBT has also led to a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms among patients with AMD relative to usual care, although improvements in other outcomes, including anxiety and self-efficacy, were not observed. 154 Cognitive and behavioral approaches have also been tested in other visually impaired populations, such as people with blindness. In one study, individuals with blindness receiving Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), a type of cognitive therapy, reported significant reductions in irrational beliefs, depression, anxiety, and stress and improvements in self-esteem, while these same changes were not observed in the control group. 113 Moreover, these mental health effects were maintained in the REBT group up to 1-month post-treatment. 113 Together, these findings suggest that cognitive behavioral interventions may be effective in improving psychological functioning of adults with varying degrees of vision loss ( Table 4 ).
How many people are visually impaired?
An estimated 2.2 billion people are visually impaired worldwide. Given that age-related vision loss is a primary cause of vision impairment, this number is projected to rise with increases in average lifespan. Vision loss often results in significant disability and is associated with a substantial economic burden, reduced quality-of-life, ...
Is low socioeconomic status a risk factor for vision impairment?
Low socioeconomic status is a risk factor for vision impairment (see 103 for review). Globally, low vision has been associated with economic disadvantage. 104, 105 Rates of visual impairment are higher in low income countries as compared to high income countries, and the prevalence of blindness has been inversely correlated with nations’ gross domestic product (GDP). 105 Across many nations, visual impairment has been linked with household income, 106 and people living in impoverished neighborhoods have been reported to be at increased risk of vision impairment or blindness. 107–111 A relationship between visual impairment and education has also been widely observed, where lower education attainment is associated with higher rates of visual impairment. 106, 112, 113 For example, a study in the US reported that rates of visual impairment were highest among individuals who did not graduate from high school. 114 In addition, social class may be a factor in visual impairment risk. Among middle-aged working adults in England, the prevalence of vision impairment was reported to be 1.9% among professionals (Class I) and 5% among unskilled manual workers (Class V), and risk for visual impairment increased by 28% with each descent in social grade. 115 Individuals with lower socioeconomic position are more likely than those of higher socioeconomic position to develop vision impairment, in both developed and developing nations. 109, 111, 112, 116 Furthermore, in a British longitudinal birth cohort study an association between low socioeconomic position in childhood and earlier adulthood and risk for visual impairment in mid-adulthood was observed. 115 Results from an annual household survey administered to nearly 70,000 adults in the US over a 3-year period indicated that lower levels of education and household income were associated with vision impairment, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, health behaviors (eg, smoking), health conditions (eg, diabetes, hypertension), and healthcare access (eg, medical insurance). 114 However, another study found that substance use mediated the relationship between low socioeconomic status and vision impairment. 117 Nevertheless, together these data indicate that socioeconomic disadvantage increases the likelihood of vision impairment, directly and/or indirectly.
Is vision impairment bidirectional?
12 The relationship between age, mental health, and vision loss also appears to be bidirectional.
What is the psychology of torture?
The psychology of torture refers to the psychological processes underlying all aspects of torture including the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, the immediate and long-term effects, and the political and social institutions that influence its use. Torture itself is the use of physical or psychological pain to control ...
How did physicians assist victims in the process of torture?
The physicians assisted by providing medical evaluations to ensure victims were healthy enough to undergo torture, developed methods of torture, ensured victims would survive the torture, and assisted victims to heal following torture procedures.
What are the stages of torture mentality?
Stages of the perpetrator's torture mentality include: (Please note that not all perpetrators go through all of the stages listed) Reluctance: The perpetrator is reluctant to participate or observe the administration of torture.
How do psychologists help victims of torture?
In addition to providing treatment for victims of torture, psychologists have the skills and knowledge to conduct research regarding interrogation methods and determine when the methods used become torture. The standards, policies, and procedures of each country's professional psychological association may influence the participation of psychologists in administering torture, researching torture methods, and evaluating the effectiveness of the results. Kenneth Pope (2011) used direct quotes to indicate the American Psychological Association believes psychologists have a key role in eliciting information from people since interrogations require an understanding of psychological processes. Each professional association sets the standards for ethics and expected professional behavior which may influence psychologist researchers who investigate interrogation or torture and clinical psychologists' participation in interrogations that use methods deemed to be consistent with torture.
How does torture affect people?
The victims' family members and friends are often also affected due to adjustment problems such as outbreaks of anger and violence directed towards family members.
What is PTSD in Vietnam?
The development of the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for American veterans of the Vietnam War can be understood as a political act which labeled the collective distress of a defeated USA as individual psychopathology. Proponents of this view, point to the de-politicization of the distress of torture survivors by describing their distress, disturbance, and profound sense of injustice in psychiatric terms. These are not only conceptual issues, because they may influence treatment outcomes. Recovery is associated with reconstruction of social and cultural networks, economic supports, and respect for human rights.
What is recovery associated with?
Recovery is associated with reconstruction of social and cultural networks, economic supports, and respect for human rights. The rich research on treatment of PTSDs in veterans has substantially informed treatment offered to torture survivors.
What countries have been accused of psychological torture?
The United States made extensive use of psychological torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and other sites subsequent to the 9/11 attacks. Many other countries have been accused of using psychological torture, including Iran.
How does psychological torture destroy a person's self image?
Many forms of psychological torture methods attempt to destroy the subject's normal self-image by removing them from any kind of control over their environment, isolation, monopolising of perception, impression of almightiness, creating a state of learned helplessness, psychological regression and depersonalization.
What is psychological torture?
Psychological torture or mental torture is a type of torture that relies primarily on psychological effects, and only secondarily on any physical harm inflicted. Although not all psychological torture involves the use of physical violence, there is a continuum between psychological torture and physical torture.
What is the Convention against torture?
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (commonly known as the United Nations Convention against Torture) is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world . The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any state under their jurisdiction, and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is a reason to believe torture could occur.
How often do states have to report to the CAT?
Upon ratifying the Convention, States must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years.
What are some techniques used to induce fear?
Other techniques include humiliation, forced nudity and head shaving, exhausting by sleep deprivation, hooding and other forms of sensory deprivation . A strictly fear-inducing method is the mock execution. Various threats operate on the same fear-inducing principle.
Does psychological torture cause physical damage?
While psychological torture may not leave any lasting physical damage—indeed, this is often one of the motivations for using psychological rather than physical torture—it can result in similar levels of permanent mental damage to its victims.
What is psychological torture?
Sometimes called “no touch torture,” psychological torture is an insidious form of torture that is meant to degrade, humiliate and eventually dehumanize victims. It’s different from physical torture in that it focuses on the mind rather than the body. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s not as bad.
What is no touch torture?
Sometimes called “no touch torture,” psychological torture is an insidious form of torture that is meant to degrade, humiliate and eventually dehumanize victims. It’s different from physical torture i. Sometimes called “no touch torture,” psychological torture is an insidious form of torture that is meant to degrade , ...
What is public shaming?
Public shaming is a form of psychological torture with roots in the Middle Ages. Devices used for this type of torture include stocks and the pillory. The word pillory has been documented in the English language since 1274, so this form of torture has a long history.
How long does waterboarding last?
Although waterboarding is mostly a physical form of torture, the psychological effects can last for years.
What is the torture report?
Later, the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released what is now known as the Torture Report. Psychologists working for the Pentagon and CIA developed many torture techniques, and this let CIA officials avoid restrictions from the Convention Against Torture. These are some of the methods they used.
What is the goal of the Convention against torture?
The United Nations Convention against Torture is an international treaty whose goal is to prevent torture and other forms of cruel punishment worldwide. The Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas says that psychological torture must satisfy four criteria: 1. Suffering.
How many soldiers were convicted of crimes in Abu Ghraib?
Eventually it became a nationwide scandal, and eleven soldiers were convicted of crimes. One of the types of torture used by the Army in Abu Ghraib was forced nudity. Male prisoners were stripped naked and forced to masturbate in front of everyone, and piled naked into a pyramid in front of a smiling soldier.
What is the purpose of knowledge of ritual abuse?
Knowledge of the methods of torture used within ritual abuse and trauma-based mind control provides a basis for recognition of related trauma disorders. Individuals subjected to these forms of torture may experience intense fear, phobic reactions, or physiological symptoms in response to associated stimuli.
What is the meaning of "item 29"?
Fears of electronic or spiritual surveillance, and threats to loved ones (item 29) inhibit their ability to defy and escape their abusers or to disclose their abuse. Victims of trauma-based mind control also usually experience intense or odd reactions to benign stimuli that were used in their programming.
What is the pain of a tortured person?
Individuals often experience localized pain, especially genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal, motor inhibitions, nausea, or even swelling in the affected area, prior to retrieval of any visual or narrative memory of the related torture. These are generally very distressing to the affected individual.
What is the meaning of "asphyxiation"?
19. Application of snakes, spiders, maggots, rats, and other animals to induce fear and disgust. 20. Near-death experiences; commonly asphyxiation by choking or drowning, with immediate resuscitation. 22. Forced to perform or witness abuse, torture and sacrifice of people and animals, usually with knives. 23.
Can a diagnostician rely on the patient?
The diagnostician cannot rely on the patient to put the pieces together of their clinical picture. Finally, generalized guilt and survivor guilt are strongly associated with ritual abuse, since participation in victimization of others is a mainstay of ritual abuse and mind control torture (items 22 and 29). For more on recognition of symptoms ...
Can victims describe torture?
Victims may be able to describe the torture they have endured, or they may fear doing so. In many cases of ritual abuse and mind control trauma, the abuse remains dissociated when the individual first seeks treatment.
How to fix distorted vision?
Depending on your eye condition, you may be able to treat your distorted vision at home by wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses. Other conditions may require medical treatment or surgical intervention. ( Learn More)
How to treat vision distortion?
In some cases, at-home solutions (such as wearing sunglasses, taking vitamin supplements, and eliminating risk factors) may be enough to treat mild cases of visual distortion.
What causes a macular hole in the eye?
Caused by a tear or opening in the macula, a macular hole causes objects in your central vision to appear distorted, blurry, or wavy. Macular pucker. When the macula, which normally lies flat against the back of your eye, wrinkles, folds, or bulges, your central vision is impaired. Objects appear distorted or blurry.
Why is my eye red and blurry?
This inflammation can cause hazy or blurred vision. When the cornea thins and bulges outward , keratoconus occurs. It causes blurry and distorted vision. Macular edema.
What is the term for the damage to the macula?
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD occurs when the macula, a part of the retina, is damaged. You lose central vision and cannot see fine details. This refers to an imperfection in the curvature of your cornea or lens that causes near and far objects to appear blurry or distorted.
What causes distorted vision?
Common causes include: Damage to the macula. Retinal damage or detachment. Ocular trauma. Inflammation in the eye. Lesions on the retina or visual cortex. Visual or retinal migraine.
What is distortion vision?
Distorted vision is an eye condition that makes straight lines appear wavy and objects appear bent or misshapen. It can be challenging to live with, as regular objects are difficult to identify and see clearly. ( Learn More)
