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Essay On History Of Mental Illness
Contribution of Hippocrates
Essay On History Of Mental Illness
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History of Mental Illness Friday, September 22,2017 I am interested in this article called “A Beautiful Mind: The History of The Treatment for Mental Illness.” This article talks about how the treatment for mental illness has grown over the years. I find it very fascinating how much our world and people have changed. While reading this article I realized that life is very unfair sometimes, and it is also very confusing at times as well. To me, all of these torture techniques used were completely unnecessary, and not any of those people deserved what happened to them. Unfortunately, many great people died because of the measures that were taken in asylums. All of it was taken way too far, and I don’t see the reason behind any of it. I choose this article to read because I love learning about the Asylums and what happened in them. Although, it was horrific I find it very fascinating. In this article they mention “Electroshock therapy.” Institutions would use this method thinking it would help them, …show more content…
Although, according to the article, around the 3rd century B.C.E, the Greeks changed how people viewed mental disorders. Hippocrates (philosopher and physician) found out that the mental illness is caused by chemicals in your brain. Everything happens naturally, which pushed Hippocrates to help find a solution. They worked together to try and fix these imbalances by using techniques like, phlebotomies, bloodletting,purging, and forcing diets on the people that needed it. Many other cultures realized that they have been doing it all wrong too, and began using Hippocrates techniques as well. Although, some cultures still believed in the old ways of treating mental illness, and that is was caused by supernatural forces. Which lead cultures to continue to drill holes in mentally ill patients. I found every last word very interesting about this article and I really enjoyed learning things I didn’t know
In the book “The Mad Among Us-A History of the Care of American’s Mentally Ill,” the author Gerald Grob, tells a very detailed accounting of how our mental health system in the United States has struggled to understand and treat the mentally ill population. It covers the many different approaches that leaders in the field of mental health at the time used but reading it was like trying to read a food label. It is regurgitated in a manner that while all of the facts are there, it lacks any sense humanity. While this may be more of a comment on the author or the style of the author, it also is telling of the method in which much of the policy and practice has come to be. It is hard to put together without some sense of a story to support the action.
In the 1800’s people with mental illnesses were frowned upon and weren't treated like human beings. Mental illnesses were claimed to be “demonic possessions” people with mental illnesses were thrown into jail cells, chained to their beds,used for entertainment and even killed. Some were even slaves, they were starved and forced to work in cold or extremely hot weather with chains on their feet. Until 1851, the first state mental hospital was built and there was only one physician on staff responsible for the medical, moral and physical treatment of each inmate. Who had said "Violent hands shall never be laid on a patient, under any provocation.
For many decades the mentally ill or insane have been hated, shunned, and discriminated against by the world. They have been thrown into cruel facilities, said to help cure their mental illnesses, where they were tortured, treated unfairly, and given belittling names such as retards, insane, demons, and psychos. However, reformers such as Dorothea Dix thought differently of these people and sought to help them instead. She saw the inhumanity in these facilities known as insane asylums or mental institutions, and showed the world the evil that wandered inside these asylums. Although movements have been made to improve conditions in insane asylums, and were said to help and treat the mentally ill, these brutally abusive places were full of disease and disorder, and were more like concentration camps similar to those in Europe during WWII than hospitals.
The BBC documentary, Mental: A History of the Madhouse, delves into Britain’s mental asylums and explores not only the life of the patients in these asylums, but also explains some of the treatments used on such patients (from the early 1950s to the late 1990s). The attitudes held against mental illness and those afflicted by it during the time were those of good intentions, although the vast majority of treatments and aid being carried out against the patients were anything but “good”. In 1948, mental health began to be included in the NHS (National Health Service) as an actual medical condition, this helped to bring mental disabilities under the umbrella of equality with all other medical conditions; however, asylums not only housed people
Today mental hospitals are a great place for people that are mentally ill. They are given a room, therapy, and medicine. With the sole focus on trying to help them. However, that was not always the case. According to Whonamedit, before the late 1700’s, mental patients were chained up to the walls and put on display to the public (Philippe Pinel, 2015). Some of these people were restrained for most of their lives. Philippe Pinel changed this. Having visited a friend in a mental hospital, he was horrified of how these people were being treated. Thus, he felt he needed to do something to change it. Pinel was one of the biggest influences on
This century was an era where specialized institutions for the mentally ill were undergoing explosive growth. Accompanying the greater access and rapid expansion, people who had mental illnesses were placed in institutions that were complete luxury compared to living conditions in earlier times. With greater access now available to facilities, it was in the 19th century overcrowding became a profound issue and people were abusing the system. The definition of insanity became corrupt and was toxic for most communities. If a family was unable to financially support a member or care for their well being, the family would then send the “ill” away to a mental institution so they were no longer burdened with the responsibility. Once overcrowding began, asylums developed a negative connotation and no longer represented the great place they once were for healing (Whitaker, 2009). In addition, people were not only living like prisoners but also expected to endure procedural rules allowing their illnesses to be treated in ways that were unusual in comparison to the treatments we have
During the Mental Illness Reform of the 1600s to 1877, people who had mental illness encountered various challenges that negatively affected their lives, which were caused by the shame of the ‘disease’. Those who were born with the now-know dyslexia, autism, and many more, were considered monsters and were hidden away from society. From the acts of neglect that were brought by the religious aspect of the church that caused lack of mental and social support by family and town members, those who were 'different' were destined to live the life of cruelty and abuse by being locked up and facing the barbaric and inhumane hospital treatments.
".. asylums based on the true meaning of the word: places of sancuary and safety for vulnerable people" "..Not the dismal instituitions that were shuttered in the past.."(Room for Debate). In the article, Psychiatric institutions Are a Necessity it provides sufficient information in order to bring back thses instituitons. This artcle, will make you see that the mentall ill are not crimminals or animals, but people who suffer from an illness that requiers a cure and attention. In the article, Should the U.S. Bring Back Psychiatric Asylums, as assistant professor of medical ethics,health policy , and psychiatty states " that the care should be "designed in collaboration with the patient".Thsi is said because there is many patients who require a certian type of care, not the same traumatic care from the early 1970s.(Should the U.S. Bring Back PSychiatrc Asylums ) . However, in the article "History of Psychiatric Hospitals reads that today there is a small amount of private psychiatric hospitals that deliver care and treatment "through a web of services including crisis services, short-term ..." In addition, there are "services that range from twenty-four- hour assistant living environments to clinics and clinicians ... that offer..psycho-therapeutic treatments" (History of Psychiatric Hospitals). What this means is that now in today's world, we somewhat provide treatment in clinics and hospitals, however, we need more than that for those who still need more attention then the rest. "asylums...might be still needed for the most vulnerable individuals who need supportive living environments" For
Whenever one thinks of psychiatric hospitals in the nineteenth century, visions of inhumane tests and poor living environments rack the brain. Although some events like these did occur during the time of author Nellie Bly, the treatment and lack of social acceptance of the mentally ill was much more alarming and needed immediate change. In the 1800s, mental illness was considered beyond terrible and embarrassing, but it is now considered a disease of the mind, something that is much more accepted.
When it comes to mental health service learning how to access services can be difficult for any population. Under the mental health umbrella there are several levels of services that a person can receive. Also within in those different levels there are people who specialize in different issues. People need to be aware of obstacles that they could face when trying to access mental health services and that it may take some time before a person receives the appropriate treatment for this case. This paper will provide an overview on the obstacles that members of the LGBT community face when trying to access needed mental health services.
In the article “An experimental investigation of the impacts of biological versus psychological explanations of the cause of mental illness”, by Danny C.K. Lam, addresses the fact there is tension between the biological and psychological accounts of the causes of mental illness. Additionally, this tension is evident in research, theoretical work and professionals’ distribution of information to both patients and the public. Furthermore, the aim of this study is to use experimental manipulation to evaluate the impact of causal labels on the perception of a number of psychiatric problems. This study was designed to investigate the extent to which psychological and biological explanations of mental disorders would influence the participants’ perceptions
After reading through the “Our Healthy Minds website”, I was left with a variety of thoughts and questions on the topic. The question I decided to pursue for my final thought paper was: “Why is it that you feel embarrassed to express to a potential dating partner that you have/or have previously suffered from mental illness?” This question is addressing stigmatization around mental illness, but also touches on the varying reasons as to why support is such a vital component within a relationship.
Today I would like to talk about mental illnesses and mental health issues. For anyone that doesnt know, a mental illness is a disease of the mind. A Report of the Surgeon General defines mental disorders as “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.” Everyone has difficult emotions from time to time and this is normal. Mental illness, on the other hand, is any condition that makes it difficult to function in daily life. Mental health conditions go beyond these emotional reactions and become something longer lasting. They are medical conditions that cause changes in how we think and feel. They are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing.
In today’s society, high school students are held to high standards. They are expected to be able to keep up grades, perform in extracurricular activities, keep up a social life, consider scholarships and colleges, and volunteer within the community, among other tasks. For most students, these tasks are not a problem. However, all of these things in combination are too high a task for children with mental illnesses to reach. Many students with depression, ADHD, anxiety, and OCD are put in positions where they are unable to perform to the standards that their able-minded peers are held to. These mental illnesses can cause a decrease in work ability, focus in classrooms, and general school performance.
It was during this time when psychiatrists started to see many mental disorders as problems that were caused by outside influences. With the dawn of the twentieth century, many asylums and hospitals had a humane way of dealing with those that dealth with mental health problems. It was during this time that medication became widely used to help those with mental disturbances, as well as deinstitutionalizing people so that they may return to society as normal citizens. More importantly, as time went on so did the view on mental illness. The emergence of contemporary mental health views began to take place. There were many biological discoveries, there was a development of a classification system that helped to understand mental illness more in-depth, psychological causation views came to light, and experiments were conducted in psychological research (Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M.