For decades, psychiatrists deliberately pushed patients into life-threatening comas as a medical treatment.Known as Insulin Shock Therapy, this procedure was once considered a scientific breakthrough. Practiced in leading hospitals and taught at elite universities, it was believed that inducing seizures and near-death states could “reset” the diseased mind.In this episode of The Caduceus Files, we examine:how insulin shock therapy beganwhy it made sense to respected physiciansthe human cost paid by patients and familiesand how the practice ultimately collapsed under evidenceThis is not a story of cruelty or ignorance.It is a case study in how confidence, authority, and desperation can sustain dangerous medicine in the absence of proof.Memento Medicus.

For most of medical history, madness wasn’t considered psychological.Doctors believed it was physical — caused by pressure, congestion, and excess force inside the skull. Hallucinations, seizures, agitation, and mania were interpreted as signs that something inside the head was building up and needed release.This belief shaped centuries of medical practice, from trepanation and bloodletting to institutional psychiatric treatments.

For over 2,000 years, bloodletting was considered the gold standard of medical care.Doctors across Europe and America believed disease was caused by imbalance—and the cure was simple: drain the excess blood.From ancient Greece to George Washington’s deathbed, this practice shaped medicine, education, and authority itself.This episode of The Caduceus Files examines why bloodletting made sense to intelligent physicians, why it survived for centuries, and how logic without evidence became lethal.This is not a story of ignorance.It’s a story of confidence, urgency, and the danger of action without proof.