Speaking from very limited experience I can assure you that being subject to electrical discharge thru your body will, indeed, break you. My 1/8th inch in McCain's shoes a part of McCain's mile have convinced me anyone can be broken.
Hell, , you'll confess to assassinating LINCOLN, and give a believable story line subjected to the person appropriate methods.
With electricity, recanting would be possible, unless the brain was damaged, within a few hours, and, of course, a public , open confession, would be impossible unless you were hooked up, and it would take a shot or three before you "fessed up" again. Hardly propaganda worthy.
Simple physical pain is something you can endure, and will simply make many drift into a raging hatred of the ones torturing, others will simply withdraw, others will try to try and make it stop by "colaberating". Some will "collaberate" simply by treating them with "respect". Normally, these are the Lee Harvey Oswald types, people normally shunned by most, and today, the DU Primituives are supurb examples.
I have no idea what Adm. Stockdale was subjected to, there is no question he was affected both mentally and physically for life. When he was abused as the vice Presidential candidate it caused me pain. Made me vcery anti-littletexasweasel. Not to mention, left me with confirmation that me distaste with the "drive by media" was not misplaced and elevated it to comtempt.
Whatever it was, for what ever reason, he was not made to "confess" any "crimes" . In addition,he was not the son of a Fleet Admrial, someone who's "confession" would be worth a ton in the propaganda arena. The Hanoi Janes would have LOVED IT. But, the actual WAR CRIMINALS, THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY, were unable to make him "confess" in public, I'm guessing that having him "hooked up" and being zapped on video tape might have had a negative effect on the propagana value of the confession.
We must never forget that the Vietnams were signatures on the Geneva Treaties and what they did was worthy of War Crimes trials, and after the Congress sold S. Vietnam down the river, the N. V. Government should have been charged with genocide.
Lastly, McCain behaved as required by the Code of Conduct and far more. His survival was heroic.
But TODAY, he is very mistaken in many of his positions, but still a UNIVERSE better than the idiot Obama.