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The third eye (also known as the “Seat of the Soul”) refers to an energy center between your eyebrows in yoga, meditation, or other spiritual practices. Opening the third eye is sometimes suggested as a way to gain insight, deepen intuition, and support mental well-being.

Jump to Key Takeaways.

Does a ‘Third Eye’ Really Exist?

The concept of a third eye is not based on scientific evidence but one that has existed throughout history in spiritual and religious traditions, such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and is believed to tie to a person’s intuition.

In Hinduism, the third eye is often represented by a tilaka, a small mark at the center of a person’s lower forehead. It is considered to be your body’s sixth primary chakra.

Buddhists associate the third eye with mindfulness and being awakened. 

You Can Explore the Third Eye By ‘Opening’ It

You can explore the third eye chakra’s role by “opening” it.

“Through the activation of the third eye, you can tap into a deep sense of inner wisdom and connect with the divine energy that flows through all things,” says Raquel Rodriguez, an astrologer and founder of Your Zodiac. “This can lead to a profound sense of spiritual connection and a greater understanding of your place in the universe.”

You Can Activate the Third Eye Through the Pineal Gland

According to Rodriguez, the third eye opens when the pineal gland is activated. The pineal gland sits near the brain’s center, where it produces melatonin and regulates your sleep cycle.

This gland has a long history as part of spiritual and religious traditions. Holistic practitioners believe that activating the pineal gland can lead to a heightened sense of intuition, clarity of thought, and increased awareness of one’s surroundings.

Why Opening Your Third Can Benefit Your Mental Health

Opening your third eye can do more than just enhance your spiritual life: it can also deepen your sense of connection, boost self-awareness, and sharpen your intuition.

“The third eye is a crucial energy center that is vital to strengthening one’s intuition and general mental and emotional intelligence,” says Angel Dawn, an international psychic astrologer, evidential psychic medium, and spiritual teacher. “It is also tied to the subconscious and accessing the memories that lie therein.”

Opening the Third Eye May Reduce Anxiety

Activating your third eye might help your mental health. It not only increases spiritual insight, it can also promote emotional balance and clarity. People who explore third eye practices sometimes feel more connected to themselves and the world around them.

“Holistic practitioners believe that when the pineal gland is activated, it can lead to a heightened sense of intuition, clarity of thought, and an increased awareness of one’s surroundings,” says Rodriguez. “

As a result of the above benefits, Rodriguez notes that an activated pineal gland will lead to a decrease in anxiety and depression thus bringing about a sense of inner peace.

Opening the Third Eye May Improve Your Imagination

According to Griff Williams, founder of MindEasy and a qualified meditation teacher with the British School of Meditation, opening your third eye can also improve your creativity, imagination, focus, and understanding of yourself. 

Methods You Can Use to Open Your Third Eye 

Utilizing your third eye requires taking the time and care to unlock it gently. Here are a few techniques that might open your third eye. 

Yoga Poses

Yoga is a grounding practice that can calm your body, loosen your muscles, and allow you to come at daily life from a more welcoming, less frazzled place. It also can help with opening your third eye.

You can incorporate these into an existing practice or use them as an introduction to yoga. 

Breathing Practices

The breath is a lifeline, a grounding force, and a tool to center yourself within your body. Taking the time to practice mindful breathing can aid in activating your third eye, says Williams.

Potential breathing techniques include alternate nostril breathing and diaphragmatic breathing. 

Visualization

The mind is an incredibly powerful force, and simply picturing something can cause the sensation to occur. “Visualization techniques involve imagining your third eye opening and becoming more receptive to spiritual energies,” says Rodriguez.

This practice, in general, can be helpful in better understanding the potential positive effects of opening your third eye. 

Meditation

Few things can connect you with your body to the same extent as meditation. “Meditation is a powerful tool for quieting the mind and gaining a greater sense of awareness,” says Rodriguez.

“To open your third eye through meditation, find a quiet place to sit and focus your attention on your breath. As you inhale and exhale, imagine a bright light entering through the top of your head and filling your entire body,” says Rodriguez.

Williams recommends concentrating on the space between your eyebrows or adding that glowing light visualization in this space to unlock your third eye. 

Chanting

The act of chanting is a key aspect of practices like meditation and yoga, so it’s no surprise that it can also help open your third eye. “Reciting specific mantras, like ‘Om’ or ‘Aum,’ can resonate with the third eye’s vibrational frequency, helping to open and activate it,” says Williams.

How Do You Know If Your Third Eye Is Open?

The signs of your third eye being open can differ from person to person. Some people might experience sensations at the spot, such as vibrations or pressure. You might also start having more vivid dreams or feel more connected to your intuition. Each person’s body is unique, as is the experience of opening the third eye.

Key Takeaways

• The third eye is believed to be an energy center located between your eyebrows.
• It is a popular concept in religions like Hinduism and Taoism.
• Believers say it can be opened by activating the pineal gland through techniques like yoga and meditation.

CHADD, short for Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, is an organization dedicated to all things ADHD. To me, its most impressive feature is just how many educational resources it hosts on its site. In the “Understanding ADHD” tab, it offers materials specific to just about anyone who might need to learn more about ADHD: for adults with ADHD, for parents or caregivers of children with ADHD, for teens and children, for educators, and for mental health professionals. 

Its “Education” tab features information about publications related to ADHD, including a blog, a magazine, and up-to-date options like “ADHD in the News” and an “ADHD weekly” newsletter; resources including current research about ADHD, an ADHD informational library featuring both an actual physical library of ADHD-related books and a searchable online database, and ADHD “toolkits” for parents, caregivers, and educators; and training and events, such as an annual ADHD conference and educational programs specifically for adults, parents, educators, employers, and professionals. 

Not only does CHADD provide this true wealth of information about ADHD, but it is also active in ADHD advocacy and treatment. Through its site, you can learn about and get involved with its political advocacy measures, fighting to “shape the conversation on how society treats, accommodates, and views people affected by ADHD.” You can also search for an in-person CHADD chapter near you, which runs local support groups, and browse CHADD’s professional directory for an ADHD-informed mental health provider and its ADHD centers directory for ADHD organizations across the country.

CHADD does not itself offer mental health services to treat ADHD. In fact, it specifically states, “CHADD does not endorse products, services, publications, medications, or treatments, including those advertised in any CHADD publications, webinars or podcasts.” I appreciate this transparency.

Chronic job dissatisfaction has been linked to a weakened immune system, lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression and anxiety, and increased strain in workers’ home life and personal relationships.

So if you constantly find yourself saying “I hate my job,” you’re right to be looking for solutions. Even if you can’t get out right away, you can work on setting boundaries to limit the stress it’s causing you while also taking steps toward finding a job that allows you to thrive.

Signs of Hating Your Job

While sometimes it’s clear that you hate your job, sometimes it can be harder to tell when general dissatisfaction has shifted into something more serious. Some key signs that differentiate disliking your job and hating your job include:

• You dread going to work every day. If the Sunday Scaries are turning into the Monday Miseries (and Tuesday Tribulations, etc.), it might be time to reassess your relationship with your job.
• You spend your day watching the clock. Every minute might feel like an hour, and the seconds seem to drag by.
• You fantasize about quitting. You’ve imagined the moment a hundred times (often in great detail).
• You feel completely drained after your workday. You have little energy left to do anything you enjoy once you’re done working.
• It’s taking a toll on your physical and mental health. You’re starting to see the effects in terms of physical symptoms (headaches, stomach aches, pain, etc), as well as psychological symptoms like irritability, apathy, and lack of motivation.

Is It Normal to Absolutely Hate Your Job?

If you hate your job, you’re not alone. According to a 2022 Gallup report on the global workplace, just 21% of employees feel engaged at work, while the rest feel emotionally detached (60%) or downright miserable (19%). With the average person spending 81,396 hours of their life at work, that kind of dissatisfaction can have a ripple effect across the rest of a person’s life.

The same report noted that nearly half of employees worldwide feel stressed at work, while 40% feel worried and 23% feel angry. This shows that, unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t very happy with their job, and a sizable minority are deeply unhappy with where they work.

Is It OK to Quit a Job You Hate?

It absolutely is ok to quit a job you hate, no matter what your reasons are. With that said, your job is likely your main source of income and, as the widespread prevalence of job dissatisfaction shows, there are lots of bad jobs out there. You need to make sure you avoid quitting one bad job just to end up in another job you hate. So before you take the leap, answer the following two questions before you do:

1. How will you pay your bills without this job? Do you have savings to fall back on? Do you have another job lined up? Do you have family or friends who would support you while you’re in between jobs?
2. What specifically are your reasons for quitting? Whether it’s the workplace environment or the work itself, you want to understand why you hate your job as clearly as possible so that you know what red flags to look for while hunting for another job.

How Long Should I Stay at a Job if I Hate It?

This really depends on your circumstances. If you feel unsafe or that staying would harm your physical or mental health, quitting immediately is likely the right call. But if your dissatisfaction with the job isn’t an immediate threat to your wellbeing, it might make sense to keep working while you figure out your plans for the future.

Rather than putting a time limit on the job itself, make a plan for getting a better job, estimate how long that will take, and use that as your timeline. If you want to find a similar job, commit to a consistent job hunting schedule to try to get something better as soon as possible. If you’re considering a career change, for example, you might need months or more of education or training.

What to Do When You Hate Your Job but Can’t Quit

Most people aren’t really in a position to quit a job, no matter how much they hate it. As stressful as that can be, there are ways to cope and ways to work toward something better even while you feel stuck where you are. Here are some strategies to try:

Create Your Exit Strategy

You may not be able to quit right now, but that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to spending the rest of your life at a job you hate. No matter how hopeless it might seem right now, it’s always worth planning your exit. Doing this will not only help you get a better job, it also helps you cope with the bad job you’re in now. Knowing that an end is in sight can give you the strength to endure.

Your plan might include steps like:

• Identify your target income by creating your ideal lifestyle budget. This is the hypothetical budget that allows you to pay your bills, get out of debt, and pay for anything else you might want like a new house, a family, or enough disposable income to travel the world.
• List the traits of your ideal job. Don’t think in terms of a “dream job.” Instead, think about the more practical qualities of the job like flexible scheduling, better work-life balance, or a collaborative work environment. Also, add the kind of work it would entail. Do you prefer digging into the details or managing the big picture? Do you prefer active or physical work over sitting behind a desk?
• List your strengths and weaknesses. What kind of work comes easily to you? And what kind feels especially difficult? Use this to guide you toward the kinds of jobs you should look for.
• Decide what you’re willing and able to do for a new job opportunity. Can you relocate? How far? Do you have the means to go back to school if necessary? Are you willing to accept a lower-level position than your current one for the chance to work your way up to the job you want?
• Pursue certifications, education, or training that can help you land a job that matches your criteria.
• Talk to people doing the job you’d like to do. Getting their perspective can help you make a more informed choice.
• Send out applications, even if you feel underqualified.

Break your plan down into daily or weekly milestones so that you’re always working toward that better future.

Stick to Your Job Description

There’s a lot of pressure in our work culture to go above and beyond your job description. That feeling like you have to take on extra responsibilities or stay late can be a major factor in job dissatisfaction, especially if your paycheck doesn’t match that extra effort you’re putting in.

If this sounds familiar, try to start setting boundaries at work to keep your workload and stress at more manageable levels. Here are some tips to actually enforce stricter boundaries around your job:

• Don’t answer work calls or emails outside of work hours.
• Don’t volunteer for tasks, even if you feel like it’s expected of you.
• Embrace being “good enough” at work. Don’t turn in bad work, but avoid perfectionism or the pressure to exceed expectations. Just get the job done and move on to the next task.
• Wear headphones or turn on your away message to signal to coworkers that you’re in deep work mode and unavailable to assist with other tasks.
• Take lunch and other breaks where you can’t be interrupted or asked to do work-related tasks.
• Use your time off, and don’t be reachable while you’re gone.

Make Time Outside of Work for Joy and Purpose

When you have to endure a job you hate, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re finding ways to enjoy life outside of work. Even if you feel too exhausted to do anything but watch TV, try to incorporate some more rewarding activities into your free time.

Play with your dog. Go for a walk. Sit at a café and draw the people or things you see. Eat dinner in your backyard when it’s nice out. Do volunteer work on weekends. Take a cooking class.

Bad jobs can drain your energy and make you feel like your life lacks any joy or meaning. But you can use your free time to inject some of that joy and meaning back into your life.

Vent Your Feelings Regularly

You might feel like complaining about the same bad job day after day is a burden on your loved ones. But being able to just say the things out loud that you maybe had to hold in for the sake of keeping the peace at work can help you decompress.

Tell your friend or partner that you’re not looking for advice or solutions. You just need to complain for a bit to let it out. Make sure you’re offering to be the sympathetic listener when they need to vent, too. You might even turn it into a weekly ritual. Every weekend, go for a hike or head to your favorite bar with your friend and take turns venting whatever you need to vent from the week prior.

Takeaways

While hating your job isn’t uncommon, it’s not something you have to just live with. The first step is to consider why you hate your job and what you can do to make it better. That might involve making changes in your current role, applying to positions with a different company, or changing fields altogether.

Research has found that job dissatisfaction contributes to a range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, burnout, and a higher risk of health conditions. That’s why figuring out how to improve the situation is so important. While you might not love your job, there are steps you can take to make your work life (and work-life balance) more manageable.

Families can be a life-giving force when they are healthy and relatively stress-free. When they are healthy, these relationships can be one constant you can count on, so much so that they can positively impact your health and well-being. 

Strong family relationships also provide comfort, guidance, and strength that you can draw on in times of stress. Likewise, they give a sense of belonging and unconditional love that you are not likely to find anywhere else.

Benefits of Healthy Family Relationships

Strong, healthy family relationships provide a basis of love, support, guidance, and stability. When people have this, they can grow and explore with confidence. Such bonds play a fundamental role in personal development and overall wellness.

Strong family relationships can:

• Help individuals cope with stress
• Improve self-esteem
• Increase well-being
• Encourage people to engage in healthy behaviors
• Provide social support
• Create a foundation for healthy, trusting relationships with others
• Allows people to feel secure and loved
• Encourage the development of values and personal responsibility

Our earliest bonds with caregivers shape our attachment styles, the emotional bonds that support development and foster healthy connections with others. While adult attachment patterns aren’t always exactly the same as the ones we had in childhood, these early relationships set a pattern that affects how we interact in relationships throughout life.

What happens when these relationships are unhealthy or stress-filled? Unfortunately, it can be exhausting and emotionally draining. A highly-conflicted or toxic family relationship can cause a lot of damage. Not only do these unhealthy relationships deprive you of support, but they also can create additional stress, conflict, and even health issues.

Signs of Healthy Family Relationships

Generally, people depend on their families in times of crisis for emotional and practical support. Sometimes they even depend on them for support when they’re experiencing a financial crisis.

The family is a constant in a person’s life. Families also carry your history and share your future. Who better than siblings, parents, and other close relatives to reminisce with about your childhood?

According to researchers, strong families share six qualities. These qualities include appreciation/affection, commitment, positive communication, time together, strong coping skills, and spiritual well-being. Here’s a closer look at each.

Appreciation and Affection

Healthy families help one another when they need it. They also keep their promises, support one another, and show affection when they are together. A warm embrace, a squeeze of the hand, or a pat on the back are gestures that speak love and support to one another.

Commitment

Healthy families are loyal, supportive, and committed. They find it easy to trust one another with the details of their lives. They also share responsibilities and make decisions together and are there for you when you need them. No one has your back like your family.

Positive Communication

Healthy families often share regular meals together and enjoy talking about their lives and their experiences. What’s more, criticisms, putdowns, name-calling, and other types of emotional abuse are rare.

Time Together

Typically, healthy families have fun when they are together, smiling and laughing often. Whether their time is planned or spontaneous, strong families enjoy being around one another. They also share one another’s interests and passions.

Strong Coping Skills

Resilience is a hallmark of healthy families. While dealing with a challenge or a crisis is never easy, healthy families encourage one another to remain strong and hopeful. They often look for the good in a bad situation and accept the things they cannot change. Going through a crisis together makes their bonds even stronger.

Spiritual Well-Being

Healthy families usually have positive outlooks on life. They also are filled with thankfulness and gratitude. Typically, these families share common values and may even share the same spiritual or religious beliefs.

Coping With Common Family Issues

Unfortunately, family relationships are so complex that they’re not always easy to navigate. In fact, dealing with difficult family members is downright hard.

Even though it may be better for your stress level and your health to eliminate strained relationships in your life, it’s not always that simple when difficult people are related to you.

Here are a few tips that might help you keep conflict at bay and reduce stress when dealing with common family issues.

Focus on Healthy Communication

Conflict is virtually inevitable in any relationship, but there are healthy ways of dealing with it. For instance, if you know that you and your family member disagree over religion or politics, try to stick to more neutral topics. Likewise, if your family member has some negative traits that really rub you the wrong way, focus on the positives instead.

And, if the conversation is spiraling out of control, know when to take a timeout. With a little hard work, you may be able to have a respectful conversation with your family members, even when you don’t see eye to eye.

Be Authentic

When people get together with their families of origin, it is not uncommon to revert to old behavior patterns. But if you’ve grown beyond these old roles and they no longer reflect who you are, don’t be afraid to be who you are now. It may take some hard work to stay true to yourself, but in the end, you will be glad you did.

When family members mention how much you have changed or tell you they miss the old you, don’t feel obligated to be that person again, especially if you changed for a reason.

For instance, if you were once a heavy drinker and the life of the party, it might be hard for family members to adjust to seeing you without a drink in your hand. But they will get used to it.

Address Family Prejudices

Typically, prejudices arise from a misguided or learned belief that certain groups of people need to be treated differently or with less respect and consideration. Some common prejudices involve race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.

When you witness prejudice in family members, finding the right way to address it can go along way. Sometimes family members don’t realize that what they are doing or saying is marginalizing and insulting.

If they are unwilling to be respectful, you may need to establish some boundaries with them. Being family doesn’t give them the right to disrespect you, a significant other, or anyone else.

Deal With Family Drama

Sometimes families are filled with gossiping, backstabbing, and other types of relational drama. When this happens, it is best to shut it down or stay out of it altogether. Nothing good comes from throwing shade, talking behind people’s backs, and pitting people against one another.

Even if you don’t participate in the drama, just listening to the mean words communicates that you might condone it. Instead, try redirecting the conversation or walking away. You also can be more direct and indicate that you are not comfortable with the conversation.

Address Adult Sibling Rivalry and Jealousy

Sibling relationships are complex, but even more so if sibling rivalry or jealousy exists. In fact, adult sibling rivalry can cause strained relationships, where siblings argue and struggle to get along.

If you feel your relationship with your family is strained because your parents favor another sibling, you may be surprised to find that you’re not alone. Birth order dynamics and other factors can influence how people relate to their parents and their siblings.

Try not to take perceived favoritism personally or allow it to impact your relationship with the family. While it may appear your parent is closer to your sibling, this does not mean that it is true or that your parent loves that sibling more than you. And whatever you do, do not perpetuate these feelings by competing with your sibling.

How to Get Help

Dysfunctional families can take a toll on individual health, but there are steps you can take to address serious problems in the family unit. Family therapy focuses on mending relationships, improving communication, and helping each family member understand their place and impact on the rest of the family.

There are also specific types of family therapy, such as:

In many cases, therapists may draw on various techniques and traditions to address a family’s specific needs. If you think your family would benefit from therapy, talk to your doctor for a referral. 

Takeaways

While you cannot control the types of relationships you have with your family members, you can create greater harmony in your relationships. Work toward strengthening and improving your family relationships. Be open, honest, and empathetic, but don’t be afraid to set boundaries with toxic or abusive family members. You are *not* required to endure abuse just because you’re related.

If you’ve ever had a boss who valued structure, had clear expectations, and used rewards (and consequences) to get results, then you’ve probably worked with a transactional leader. Transactional leadership is a leadership style that utilizes rewards and punishments to motivate and direct followers.

Basic Assumptions of Transactional Leadership

Sociologist Max Weber first described this theory of leadership, and Bernard M. Bass further explored it during the early 1980s.

Transactional leadership, also sometimes referred to as managerial leadership, emphasizes the importance of structure, organization, supervision, performance, and outcomes. The group’s goals and tasks are highly structured, and members are rewarded when they achieve these goals and reprimanded if they miss deadlines.

The core assumptions of transactional leadership are that:

• People perform their best when the chain of command is definite and clear.
• Rewards and punishments motivate workers.
• Obeying the instructions and commands of the leader is the primary goal of the followers.
• Subordinates need to be carefully monitored to ensure that expectations are met.

Athletic teams also rely heavily on transactional leadership. Players are expected to conform to the team’s rules and expectations and are rewarded or punished based on their performance. Winning a game might mean accolades and bonuses, while losing might lead to rejection and verbal castigation. Players often become highly motivated to do well, even if it means suffering pain and injury.

Unlike transformational leaders who tend to be forward-looking, transactional leaders are interested in merely maintaining the status quo. Transformational leaders try to sell their ideas and vision to followers. Transactional leaders, on the other hand, tell group members what to do and when to do it.

How Transactional Leadership Works

In transactional leadership, rewards and punishments are contingent upon the performance of the followers.

• The leader views the relationship between managers and subordinates as an exchange – you give me something for something in return.
• When subordinates perform well, they receive a reward (such as a bonus).
• When they perform poorly, they will be punished in some way (such as getting a verbal warning or a poor performance review).
• Rules, procedures, and standards are essential in transactional leadership.

They do not, however, act as catalysts for growth and change within an organization. Instead, they are focused on maintaining this as they are and enforcing current rules and expectations.

These leaders tend to be good at setting expectations and standards that maximize an organization’s efficiency and productivity. They often give constructive feedback about follower performance, which allows group members to improve their output and obtain better feedback and reinforcement.

When Is Transactional Leadership the Most Effective?

Research has found that transactional leadership tends to be most effective when problems are simple and clearly defined. Transactional leaders don’t encourage group members to be creative or to find new solutions to problems.

It can also work well in crisis situations where the focus needs to be on accomplishing certain tasks. By assigning clearly defined duties to particular individuals, leaders can ensure that those things get done.

Transactional leaders focus on the maintenance of the structure of the group. They are tasked with letting group members know exactly what is expected, articulating the rewards of performing tasks well, explaining the consequences of failure, and offering feedback designed to keep workers on task.

Drawbacks of Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership can also have some downsides that managers and organizations should consider. Some of these include:

• Reduced collaboration: The emphasis on completing individual tasks means that group members are sometimes less likely to work together to accomplish goals.
• Decreased creativity: Because this approach focuses on rewards and punishments, members are less likely to think outside of the box.
• Inhibited motivation: Relying solely on external rewards can often reduce intrinsic motivation.
• Lessened satisfaction: Team members often feel they are unable to grow creatively and professionally, which can lead to job dissatisfaction and burnout.

While transactional leadership can be helpful in some situations, it is often considered insufficient and may prevent leaders and followers from achieving their full potential.

Takeaways

Certain situations sometimes call for different styles of leadership. A transactional style might be the best choice when the task is straightforward or when time is of the essence. It allows leaders to create structure, enforce rules, and ensure that group members stay on track. But if the situation is less clear and creativity is needed, you might want to consider a different approach that allows team members more freedom to explore and contribute.

Once viewed as a groundbreaking treatment for mental health problems, lobotomies now stand as one of the most controversial and haunting procedures in medical history.

What Is a Lobotomy?

A lobotomy is a surgical procedure that involves severing the nerve pathways in the prefrontal cortex. The procedure is intended to help with psychiatric and neurological conditions, but it can have serious risks and unwanted outcomes.

In the mid-20th century, the lobotomy was a popular “cure” for mental illness. It was part of a new wave of treatments for neurological diseases, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Lobotomies were typically performed on people with the following three conditions:

This procedure aimed to sever nerve fibers in the brain that connect the frontal lobe, the area responsible for thinking, with other regions. While some saw it as a quick “cure” for serious mental health symptoms, it was soon clear that it often resulted in devastating and irreversible effects.

History of Lobotomy as a Treatment

The history of lobotomy reflects much about the evolution of psychiatric treatments for mental illness. Originally introduced during the 1930s, the procedure was seen as a huge step forward in the treatment of psychiatric symptoms, particularly for those who had few other options.

The procedure grew in popularity, but eventually declined as the consequences became more apparent. Understanding the history of the procedure and the prominent types of lobotomies practiced during the mid-20th century offers context for why the lobotomy eventually fell from favor.

Egas Moniz’s “Leucotomy”

The world’s first lobotomy was performed in 1935 by a Portuguese neurologist by the name of António Egas Moniz. His original method involved drilling holes into the skull and pumping absolute alcohol into the frontal cortex, essentially destroying brain tissue.

He thought that damaging the connection between the front of the brain and other parts of the brain, would stop “abnormal” behaviors and distressing thoughts.

Later, Moniz began to use an instrument of his own design, called a leucotome, to remove chunks of tissue from the frontal lobes.

Moniz was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the prefrontal lobotomy as a radical therapy for mental disorders.

The “Ice Pick” Lobotomy

Within a year of Moniz’s procedure, neurologist Walter Freeman and neurosurgeon James Watts performed the first prefrontal lobotomy in the United States. Although Freeman found this procedure great, he wanted to develop a procedure that would be faster, more effective, and require fewer resources and specialized tools. 

However, Freeman wanted lobotomies to be a more streamlined process. So, in 1946—10 years after performing his first lobotomy in the U.S.—Freeman developed a new method called the transorbital lobotomy. 

Instead of drilling into the skull to sever the connections in the frontal lobes, Freeman used a hammer to drive an ice pick into his patients’ brains through their eye sockets.

Once the ice pick was inside, he literally wiggled it around, severing the nerves connecting the prefrontal cortex to the thalamus. This adapted procedure became known as an “ice pick lobotomy.”

While the prefrontal lobotomy took over an hour, Freeman’s transorbital lobotomy could be done in 10 minutes or less. Because it didn’t require anesthesia—patients were knocked out before the operation using ECT—it could be performed outside of the hospital.  

In 1942, Freeman and Watts wrote that of the 200 people they had treated at the time with lobotomies, 63% had improved, 23% saw no change, and 14% died or had severe complications.

How Common Were They?

Shortly after doing his first ice pick lobotomy, Freeman began traveling the country performing lobotomies on all who were willing.

About 50,000 people received lobotomies in the United States, most of them between 1949 and 1952. Freeman himself is said to have performed about 3,500 patients, including 19 children. The youngest was just four years old.

What Were the Effects?

What happens to a person after a lobotomy varies considerably. While the intention was to reduce mental health symptoms and improve functioning, the procedure did not always produce such effects. Such effects ranged from subtle changes in personality to severe cognitive and emotional impairments.

Early proponents often suggested that the procedure helped calm severely agitated people. However, the long-term effects told a different, much more troubling story. Many were left with reduced mental function, flat emotions, and difficulty living independently.

In other instances, people lost functioning and became emotionally numb and apathetic. Some people who were lobotomized became catatonic following the procedure. Lobotomies were also fatal in some cases.

Other serious risks included:

• Brain infections
• Changes in language abilities
• Cognitive impairment
• Loss of bladder and bowel control
• Muscle weakness
• Personality changes

As for what the procedure felt like, some reported experiencing severe pain, while others reported having no memory of the procedure at all.

Notable Lobotomies

Freeman reportedly felt that the lobotomy was “only a little more dangerous than an operation to remove an infected tooth.” Unfortunately, this was not the case for the majority of patients. In many instances, lobotomies had adverse effects on a patient’s personality, initiative, inhibitions, empathy, and ability to function on their own.

Here are a few people who underwent lobotomies and the impact the operation had on their lives.

Alice Hood Hammatt

Freeman and Watts performed the first lobotomy in the U.S. on Alice Hood Hammatt, a woman diagnosed with agitated depression. When Hammatt awoke postoperatively, she stated that she was “happy.”

Six days after the operation, Hammatt experienced transient language difficulties, disorientation, and agitation. Nevertheless, Freeman believed that the outcome of her procedure was a success.

Rosemary Kennedy

Probably the most notable person to have undergone a lobotomy is Rosemary Kennedy, sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

As a child and young adult, Kennedy had mild developmental delays that impaired her performance in school. As Rosemary got older, she reportedly began to experience violent seizures and temper tantrums, lashing out at those around her.

Seeking a treatment to ease her outbursts and fearing that Rosemary’s behavior would create a bad reputation for herself and the whole family, Rosemary’s father arranged a lobotomy for Rosemary when she was 23 years old.

Throughout the entire procedure, Rosemary is said to have been awake, speaking with doctors, and reciting poems to nurses. Doctors knew the procedure was over when she stopped speaking.

Following the procedure, she became severely disabled. She was unable to function independently, and was institutionalized for the remainder of her life.

Why Were Lobotomies Performed?

The lobotomy is considered one of the most barbaric treatments in the history of modern medicine. Even in the 1940s, lobotomies were the subject of growing controversy. But despite it’s ethical issues regarding the procedure, it gained widespread popularity for several reasons:

• Absence of effective treatments: Antipsychotic drugs were not available until the mid-1950s. was available. People were desperate to do something, anything to help those with severe mental illness.
• Overcrowded institutions: During the 1930s, approximately 1 in every 300 Americans was institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital. Lobotomies were used to calm unruly patients and make them easier to manage.
• Media: At this time, the media was able to influence surgical indications. One newspaper article hailed the procedure as constituting “one of the greatest innovations of this generation.”

Are Lobotomies Still Performed?

Performing lobotomies to address symptoms of mental disorders began to subside in the mid-1950s when scientists developed antipsychotic and antidepressant medications that were much more effective. They are rarely, if ever, performed today, and when they are you can rest assured that ice picks and hammers are not involved.

In rare cases, a procedure called psychosurgery may be used when other treatments have not been effective. However, this type of surgery is vastly different than a lobotomy and does not involve severing the prefrontal cortex.

Alternatives to Lobotomy

Today’s treatments for serious mental illness typically focus on the use of psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of the two. The specific type of treatment that is recommended depends on a number of factors, including the type of symptoms a person is experiencing, the nature of their diagnosis, and the severity of their symptoms.

Psychotherapy

Talk therapy can be an effective tool in the treatment of mental health problems. One of the most researched and recommended types of therapy is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which involves identifying negative thoughts and replacing them with more helpful and adaptive thought and behavior patterns.

Other types of therapy that might be used include psychodynamic therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, family therapy, and group therapy.

Medication

Medications are also often prescribed to help relieve symptoms of mental disorders. Such medications may include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, stimulants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.

Psychosurgery and Other Procedures

Moniz’ and Freeman’s work paved the way for other forms of psychosurgery, such as the anterior cingulotomy. Procedures such as deep brain stimulation are sometimes used to treat severe MDD and OCD, and neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a procedure that involves inducing a seizure while a person is under anesthesia, is also sometimes used for treatment-resistant depression, bipolar disorder, and psychosis.