It was like a white hot knife had entered her mind and the longer it stayed, the more Rose Marie Kennedy lost her sense of self. She hears the sound of the drill enter her skull, and soon, her senses go numb. What was once a vibrant and busy world, was now a dull and quiet asylum for Rose Marie Kennedy as her personality shifted drastically and she lost her ability to walk and talk (National Park Service, 2021). Through this project, I would like to represent the sensory processes that occur for patients like Mrs. Kennedy who undergo the lobotomy. Like many psychosurgeries, the lobotomy is an antiquated technique of drilling holes in the brain in order to “fix” the mental troubles of a patient. A blunt tool is inserted through the face’s cavities like nose or tear duct, and with a medical hammer, the tool is struck to enter the brain. Upon entry, the tool is used to aimlessly poke through the brain. Studies have shown that the start of psychosurgery can be seen more than 7,000 years ago (Cutting of the mind: The history of psychosurgery, 2005). The lobotomy, and other psychosurgeries such as electroshock gained their popularity because of the misinformation that flooded the public. It was believed that psychosurgery would cure a multitude of mental illnesses which we now refer to as; OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and more. Over time this opinion changed as scientists began to discover the hereditary and environmental factors that lead to mental illnesses (Scull, 2005). What followed was the rise of psychopharmacology which replaced the dangers of psychosurgery with medication (Foerschner, 2010). Though the safer option, psychopharmacology still mimics the sentiment that mental illness is something to be “fixed”. It seems oftentimes these treatments for mental illnesses aim to silence the mind, and dull its functions. I am inspired by this proposal because it allows me to explore an area of the history of the mind that is relatively unexplored. I want to represent the sensation and experience that patients of psychosurgery might have felt during their procedures. This representation will be auditory and visual to depict the sort of uncertain atmosphere and sensations that patients might have felt during their procedure. I will also consider the perceptions and sensations that come with certain mental illnesses in this representation.
Work Cited
Cutting of the mind: The history of psychosurgery. Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://sites.dartmouth.edu/dujs/2008/04/08/cutting-of-the-mind-the-history-of-psychosurgery-and-its-application-today/
Foerschner, A. M. “The History of Mental Illness: From Skull Drills to Happy Pills.” Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 2.09 (2010). <http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1673>
“Rosemary Kennedy, the Eldest Kennedy Daughter (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/000/rosemary-kennedy-the-eldest-kennedy-daughter.htm.
The Trustees of Princeton University. (n.d.). Paw May 11, 2005: Features. Princeton University. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_new/PAW04-05/14-0511/features1.html