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Electric Malady: Exploring the controversial subject of electromagnetic hypersensitivity | Ents & Arts News


Covered by a thick white cloth, William looks like a tall child wearing a ghost costume. He lives as a hermit, isolated in a small remote house in Sweden, and says of the pain that prevents him from leading a normal life: “It feels like being stuck in my head.”

A former master’s student and aspiring musician, he is now in his 40s and has lived this way for over a decade, his family taking water and food to keep him alive. William’s story is told in a new documentary, Electric Malady, which tackles the subject of electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) – a supposed sensitivity to electromagnetic fields such as cell phones, WiFi and other modern technology.

EHS is not a scientifically recognized condition and controlled “double-blind” studies over many years – in which neither the participant nor the researcher knew whether the device was turned on or off until at the end of the trial – found no evidence that modern technology was causing the physical symptoms.

Michael McKean as Charles 'Chuck' McGill in Better Call Saul.  Photo: Michele K Short/ Netflix
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Michael McKean as Charles ‘Chuck’ McGill in Better Call Saul. Photo: Michele K Short/ Netflix

It received increasing awareness a few years ago thanks to Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, showing Saul’s brother Chuck living a reclusive life, often covered in silver blankets and living by candlelight.

Many experts say it is psychological. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that EHS is not a medical diagnosis but acknowledges the symptoms are real and that it can be “a disabling problem for the individual affected”.

‘We’ve completely rewired the house’

Electric Malady was made by Marie Liden, who was nominated in the excellent debut category at this year’s BAFTAs for the project. She was inspired to tell William’s story when her mother experienced symptoms for several years.

“I was eight years old when my mother got sick,” she said. “We remodeled the whole house and used kerosene lamps and candles instead of lanterns. It was an unusual childhood, but it has become normal.”

She pointed out that William’s experience was extreme, but said she wanted to tell his story because he “speaks very well about the kind of difference, isolation and loneliness that comes from having to endure things like like this”.

Filming, with technology involved, has always been a challenge; Liden used a camera that runs on batteries and has no lights. “The equipment had to be kept outside his home and we used long lenses to keep him as far away as possible,” she said. “Sometimes after a few hours or a day of filming, we have to stop and he’ll spend the day recuperating.”

A controversial topic

Marie Liden is the BAFTA-nominated director of Electric Malady.  Photo: Baolei Qin/EIFF
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Marie Liden is the BAFTA-nominated director of the documentary. Photo: Baolei Qin/EIFF

Like William, Liden’s mother believes her EHS started after the mercury filling in her tooth came loose. “She has 19,” Liden said. “It’s been a long process because every time she takes one out, it gets worse.”

The filmmaker said her mother is now well after having the filling removed. “She uses a cell phone now – she tries not to put it on her head or sleep with it by her bed, or anything like that. But she lives a normal life.”

The British Dental Association says dental amalgams are safe and durable. Mick Armstrong, chair of the organization’s science and health committee, said there was no evidence that exposure had an adverse effect on patient health.

Marie Liden directed Electric Malady, a documentary about the phenomenon of electrical sensitization.  Photo: Conic
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William lives alone in a cottage in the woods. Photo: Conic

Erica Mallery-Blythe, former A&E physician who founded PHIRE (The Physicians’ Health Initiative on Radiation and the Environment), says that less than 1% of the population will suffer extreme as strong as William.

“You have a bunch of less severe cases, but nonetheless very disruptive to life, where they can’t work anymore, they can’t live in a normal residential area anymore,” she said. .

“Then you have what I call moderate cases, where they’re pretty unwell but still find work, still manage to live at home in a relatively normal environment. you have very mild cases; they could be people who, for example, are just having headaches.”

Warning to campaigners

In the modern world, it is a subject that should be approached with caution. While technology is inevitable for most people, there is a real danger of fear.

In 2020, charity Electrosensitivevity-UK was warned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a poster whose headline asked the question: “How secure is 5G?” and lists a range of what it claims to be health effects such as “reduced male fertility, depression, sleep disturbances and headaches, as well as cancer”.

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Banning ads after reviewing WHO and government guidance, the ASA asked the charity to ensure it did not make claims that implied “strong scientific evidence” about negative health effects people without sufficient evidence.

In 2007, the BBC upheld claims against an edition of the Panorama news programme, titled Wi-Fi: Warning Signals, after two viewers said they had exaggerated the evidence because concerns about potential health hazards.

‘It was a tragic situation’

MUST CREDIT Conic.  Photos submitted by Alex Rowley Marie Liden's Electric Malady documentary tells the story of William, who says he is 'electrically sensitive'.  Photo: Conic
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The documentary was filmed in Sweden. Photo: Conic

Kenneth Foster, a professor of biological engineering at the University of Pennsylvania who has spent decades studying the effects of radiation, says the symptoms of electrical sensitization are real, but there are no well-controlled studies. show that they are related to actual exposure.

“[People with EHS symptoms] vehemently opposes any suggestion that the symptoms are psychological in nature – although the evidence seems to point in that direction,” he told Sky News. many years. I don’t see any easy solutions.”

Another radiation expert, Eric van Rongen, says that while there is no scientific evidence for EHS and he believes mental health plays an important role for many people with the disease, he does not rule it out. the possibility that there are people who are really physically sensitive.

He said: “Studies have shown that perception of exposure influences complaints. “So there’s definitely a psychological component to the whole thing. But is that the explanation for the problem?” all the problems people have, it’s not obvious. You can’t rule out the possibility that there are people who are really too sensitive to electricity.”

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One theory is that the condition is comparable to an allergy to peanuts, penicillin, or insect stings, for example.

Dr Van Rongen said: “There are still a lot of mysteries in the human body. He concluded by ensuring that the world was exposed to electromagnetic fields for a long time. “It’s certainly not a big health issue for the general population.”

Liden says she feels EHS is “still very controversial and really toxic to talk about” but she was determined to shine.

“I’ve seen firsthand the physical reactions to my mother,” she said. “If we were driving under low power lines, she would react. She would get very sick, her face would burn and become really nauseous.

“My film isn’t trying to prove if this is real or not. It’s looking at the sometimes really extreme situations that people are forced to go through because they have nowhere else to go.”

Electric Malady is now in theaters

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