The same package ushers in the discussion of nightmares and phobias, which thanks to psychology receive new, scientific attention from the late 19th century onward; the discussion of phobias encompases the various, often drastic treatments imposed, including lobotomies and electric shock treatments, as the 20th century unfolded.

Through the middle decades of the 20th century gays were routinely pressured to convert to heterosexuality, whether through psychoanalysis, electroshock therapy, lobotomies, or even castration.

There is simply no way to encompass all the cruelties heaped on the patients; most are familiar with lobotomies, which gained popularity as they produced manageable patients, albeit those whose cognitive functioning had been permanently impaired.