Mental Illnesses In The 1930's

Hannah Hendrix Ms.Harder English 3 Honors 15 February 2023 Mental Health Treatments in the Early 1900s and Why they were Harmful Horrifying, shocking, and downright nauseating are words that some choose to describe the things done to those who were perceived to be suffering from mental illnesses in the early 1900s. These range from being chained up, drowned, shocked, cut open, and even detaching the entire frontal lobe from the brain. Needless to say, not a first-class experience.

By the 1960’s many new things were going on policies were changed and treatment was moved into the communities. Institutions were becoming more decentralized by having smaller outbuildings that cut cost about one-third compared to its larger centralized facilities. Advocates also suggested that the care for the patience’s got better as well. The Kennedy administration embraced the recommendation made by the task force on mental health under NIMH leadership. Their recommendation was to have each community to deliver a range of services including comprehensive mental health to eliminate the need for mental institutions.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime, more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties, then in women, who are generally affected in the twenties or early thirties. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful; and withdrawn.

Mental illness is usually very difficult to treat, which means that many people are suffering from the issues listed above. Contrary to popular belief, people cannot control their mental issues. These disorders are biological deficits, and cannot simply be treated with willpower. Most illnesses are not curable, but there are means for improvement. Treatments for psychological disorders include different methods of therapy and the taking of certain medications (Mental Illness

Doctors must also rule out drug and alcohol use by running test and may have to do imaging scan of the brain by MRI or CT scan. An evaluation of schizophrenia is come to through an assessment of particular signs and indications, as depicted in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). According to Doble, the DSM-5 expresses that the criteria for schizophrenia must have two or more of the dynamic stage side effects, each going on for a huge bit of no less than a one-month time span: daydreams, mind flights, disrupted discourse, horribly scattered or mental conduct, and negative symptoms. At slightest one of the qualifying manifestations must be fancies, pipedreams, or confused speech

1.1 Schizophrenia - Introduction Schizophrenia patients believe that the environment can Hear their thoughts (= "thought echo"), they are often clueless and very insecure. Many try to avoid the contact with others (= withdrawal), while others withdraw themselves so much that they remain completely motionless (= rigidity), or they could be trying to find an explanation for all the things that they experience (= Declaration mania), and then believe, that they are ruled by supernatural forces, aliens or were chosen by God to save the world (= delusions). Many schizophrenics suffer from hallucinations, hear voices that insult, threaten them and tell them what to do. They see the world in a different context than "normal" people.

With mental health first being documented in 1100 B.C. there have been millennia for scientific opinions to develop to get to where it is today. Before modern-day medicine, it’s been documented that throughout history, struggling with mental health was equivalent to the behavior and actions of animals. Furthermore, the lack of education made the treatment given to those struggling with mental health inflict physical damage upon the body. Ingrid Farreas, a professor at Hood College, published an online article in 2020 about the history of mental health, stating that “While inhumane by today’s standards, the view of insanity at the time likened the mentally ill to animals…who did not have the capacity to reason [and] could not control themselves.” (Farreras).

When people hear the words, “mental illness,” they think of insane asylums and psychiatric wards, but that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, back in the 1800’s they did have asylums for people with mental disorders. But that was when doctors didn’t fully understand mental illnesses and disorders. But currently, doctors are able to comprehend illnesses and disorders.

Schizophrenia is often one of the most well known yet misunderstood mental illnesses. Some believe that those with schizophrenia are consumed by the disorder, and cannot lead normal lives. Many people believe believe them to be violent, dangerous, and incurable. These assumptions are not only false, but also harmful to people suffering from the disorder. Some of the most common misconceptions about schizophrenia is that it is a rare and debilitating disease.

It can be very hard struggling with an illness that there is little to no cure for, especially when you are not provided the correct help you need to get better. Especially when just living your day to day life seems like the biggest struggle to get over. Well in the 1960s a massive problem for many was dealing with a mental illness and an even bigger problem was getting help. Mental illnesses have been a struggle in human life for centuries, however in 1960 it was brought to worldwide attention. Being that it was 62 years ago, many changes have been made since then in support of helping people with mental illnesses and disabilities to have a better life.

alone there are as many people with schizophrenia as the combined populations of Wyoming, Vermont, Delaware, and Hawaii” (Johnston 302). Schizophrenia defined is a severe mental condition that interferes with normal thought processes and is known to cause delusions; “an incorrect belief about reality that is clearly false”, hallucinations; “A disruption in one’s perception of reality, in which the senses perceive stimulation that does not actually exist”, paranoia; “fear of threats and persecution not based on reality”, and mental disorganization. Similarly to Horton people who suffer from schizophrenia will have delusions and hallucinations. They have mistaken beliefs, perceive things that do not exist, and will often hear voices (Schizophrenia).

Some symptoms of Schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, negative symptoms, thought disorders, movement disorders, positive symptoms and cognitive issues. These many issues can affect the patient in many ways, such as with hallucinations,

What are some thoughts that come to mind when a person brings up the word schizophrenia? According to Ford-Martin, “Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder or group of disorders marked by disturbances in thinking, emotional responsiveness, and behavior” (2139). The character, Alice, from the film, Alice in Wonderland is a perfect example of schizophrenia, and the director, Tim Burton, further emphasizes the disorder by his use of film techniques. One characteristic of schizophrenia is delusions. According to Fallon, “The delusions of paranoid schizophrenics usually involve thoughts of being persecuted or harmed by others or exaggerated opinions of their own importance, but may also reflect feelings of jealousy or excessive religiosity” (2957).

That is about 1.1% of the humans on earth! Some of the most common symptoms of it include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, loss of interest in daily activities, feeling out of touch, and finally, apathy. All these symptoms and behaviors cause major problems for people with schizophrenia. There are also many challenges people face with schizophrenia. People may think they aren't

Psychosis is a mental disorder where the person loses contact with reality it is characterised by hallucinations where the person may see or hear things that aren't present as well as experiencing delusions where they have unusual thoughts and feeling about the world. The disorder has been suggested to be caused by a variety of different factors ranging from biological to social which raises the debate of nature versus nurture in respect to the origin of psychosis in sufferers. some researchers have found a strong genetic link however others suggest environmental factors are important. It is frequently associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as other personality disorders. Psychosis may manifest as a result of a physical