Nybol Majok Professor Presnell English 1103 26 November 2012

Mental Illnesses
The history of mental illnesses is one thats characterized by unequal treatment, atrocious actions, and in the present medical progression. For centuries, man was ignorant to the needs of people living with mental illnesses, and failed to understand them. There have been long standing controversial questions surrounding those with mental illnesses. In high school, I took an AP course in psychology and became fascinated and interested in mental illnesses. I loved learning about the different cases of the illnesses from both the clinical and sociological perspectives. I was particularly interested in finding out if the mentally ill were better off isolated from society, or could they coexist with society? In order to understand our understanding of mental illnesses we first must examine how its theory first developed and evolved. Dating all the way back to the Greeks, mental illnesses were perceived to be punishment by the Gods. There was definitely a negative stigma placed on mental illnesses that caused humiliation to both the family and to the person

suffering from the illness. I think people feared being shunned and preferred to keep family members hid away from the public to remove themselves from the stigma. In the middle Ages, the churchs heavy influence on society also had a profound influence on mental illnesses. Like the Greeks, they too believed that the illnesses were derived from a spiritual problem. They believed that an evil spirit was possessing a person. Treatments included exorcisms, drills inside the head to release the spirit, shaving the pattern of a cross into your head, or permanent isolation from society

(Foerschner). Rather than realizing that this could actually do more harm than good, I think the idea of putting all of the mentally ill together sounded appealing because it lifted the burden from the families and society. This is why it quickly became popular and started the push for asylums.

Originally, the intent of rounding up the mentally ill I think seemed liked a better idea on paper. By locking them up and keeping them unseen and unheard, no one had to deal with them. However, without proper care and some sort of treatment, there was now a concentration of people left helplessly to waste away. Bethlem Royal Hospital is listed as the most notorious asylums in history; it was also the first asylum in England (Taylor). Established in 1247 outside of London it is known for their brutal and inhumane treatment of its patients. The hospital was overcrowded, used inhumane methods such as electroshock, locking up the patients in cages, and would open the hospital for the public to watch and treat the patients as if they were animals (Taylor). Many more asylums would follow suit in the example of Bethlem which all fueled to the degradation and poor treatment.

By the late 18 and early 19th century people began to change their perception of the way the ill were treated. The US National Institute of Health cites the Quakers as the first group to come up with a successful way of dealing with the mentally ill. The Quakers were the first group to advocate public asylums through the York Retreat (Taylor). This method was more effective because the Quakers treated the mentally ill as human beings and were sympathetic to their needs. For those who needed less supervision the approach of half-way houses was created, this approach is also still today. Many of the patients that came into these treatments often recovered and were sent back to normal lives. Today this method was adopted and incorporated into the psychiatric institutions. Later on in the mid 19th century, activist and social reformers like Dorothea Dix continued the push for better treatment of the mentally insane. From her empirically conducted research, Dix fought for the improvement and reform of mental hospitals in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to name a few (US National Library of Medicine). The discoveries made in science and psychology made it possible to find other treatments such as medicine. The medicine helps combat the chemical and biological issues in the brain. For example, schizophrenics have a high imbalance of dopamine, which leads to the illness. Dopamine is

a neurotransmitter that helps the brain cells communicate with each other. This stimulates the brain to be impulsive, can lead to hallucinations, and further increases a sense of paranoia. The usage of medication such as Thorazine and Haloperidol help slow the launching of neurotransmitters across the synapse, this causes the person to not be as impulsive, as well as treats the hallucinations both verbal and visual (US National Library of Medicine). I think the most effective method involves the usage of medicine and positive reinforcement in behavior such as the method used by the Quakers. This very much proves that those with mental illnesses can be treated for their illness, treated with dignity, and sent back into society. However there is evidence that refutes this and proves that they can be harmful to society if not properly looked after. How many times have we read or watched on the news crazy serial killers perform heinous acts that have harmed others? Plenty of times Im sure, this is because the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law estimate that the mentally ill constitute four to ten percent of the people convicted of crimes in the US. This is important because they only make up a tenth of point to three percent of the general population. This shows that they represent a large portion of the percent of the criminal charges. The

penal system has a special way of dealing with the mentally ill that are flawed in many ways. This leads me to my next question, should they simply be given the death penalty because they would serve no purpose to society, and is this ethical? In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled the execution of the mentally ill unconstitutional from the court case Ford v. Wainwright from the argument that they lack the ability to comprehend the nature of the penalty (Rosenthal). Because those with mental illnesses are impaired from functioning with normal cognitive, emotional, and social behavior, they dont know any better. The decision of the death penalty is left up to the states to decide. Some states such as Florida, argue that all that is needed is awareness (Rosenthal) by proving that the person was aware that he committed the crime, he can be executed. The flaw to this rational though is that just because the accused is aware doesnt necessarily mean that they understand this law; the accused may miss the correlation between their crime and execution. Overall, I think that yes the mentally ill can coexist with society and still be useful to society, but I also dont think killing them off solves the problem. If anything understanding their behavior and why they develop the illness is significant to helping society learn how to deal with them. With

the death penalty, the accused if he is found to be mentally ill, cannot understand the magnitude of his crime. Why should he be abused by the justice system for something that he doesnt comprehend? If they are treated like animals or subpar humans of course, they will succumb to behavior that only severs their condition.

Works Cited Foerschner, Allison. "The History of Mental Illness: From "Skull Drills" to "Happy Pills"." . Student Pulse, 09 2010. Web. 5 November 2012.

Rosenthal, Andrew. "A Schizophrenic on Death Row." New York Times 17 10 2012, A32. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.

Taylor, Jeremy. "The Most Famous and Notorious Insane Asylums in History." Asylum for All Mankind. AOL , 02 2010. Web. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Wall Paul, Barry Christopher. "American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law." American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 40.3 (2012): n. page. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

United States. US National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health. Diseases of the Mind: Highlights of American Psychiatry through 1900 . Bethesda, MD: , 2006. Web.