History of Mental Illness
According to one of the earliest beliefs (espoused by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Hebrews), a person with a mental disorder was possessed by evil spirits. These demons were exorcised by such techniques as prayer, incantation, magic, and the use of purgatives concocted from herbs. If these treatments were unsuccessful, more extreme measures were taken to ensure that the body would be an unpleasant dwelling place for the evil spirit. Flogging, starving, burning, and even stoning to death were not infrequent forms of treatment.
Image via Wikipedia
The first progress in understanding mental disorders was made by the Greek physician Hippocrates (circa 460-377 B.C.), who rejected demonology and maintained that mental disorders were the result of a disturbance in the balance of body fluids. Hippocrates, and the Greek and Roman physicians who followed him, argued for a more humane treatment of the mentally ill. They stressed the importance of pleasant surroundings, exercise, proper diet, massage, and soothing baths, as well as some less desirable treatments, such as bleeding, purging, and mechanical restraints. Although there were no institutions for the mentally ill during this period, many individuals were cared for with great kindness by physicians in temples dedicated to the Greek and Roman gods.
This progressive view of mental illness did not continue, however. Primitive superstitions and a belief in demonology were revived during the Middle Ages. The mentally ill were considered to be in league with Satan and to possess supernatural powers with which they could cause floods, pestilence and injuries to others. Seriously disturbed individuals were treated cruelly: people believed that by beating, starving, and torturing the mentally ill, they were punishing the devil. This type of cruelty culminated in the witchcraft trials that sentenced to death thousands of people (many of them mentally ill) during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the fields of medicine and psychology were making great advances. In 1905, a mental disorder known as general paresis was show to have a physical cause: a syphilis infection acquired many years before the symptoms of the disorder appeared. General paresis is characterized by a gradual decline in mental and physical functions, marked personality changes, and delusions and hallucinations. Without treatment, death occurs within a few years.
The discovery that general paresis was the result of a disease encouraged those who believed that mental illness was biological in origin. At about the same time, Sigmund Freud and his followers laid the groundwork for understanding mental illness in terms of psychological factors; likewise Pavlov’s laboratory experiments demonstrated that animals could become emotionally disturbed if forced to make decisions beyond their capacities.
Liked it
simplyoj | Sep 2, 2009 | Reply
Well written article, thanks for sharing to us.