Mental Illness in the 19th Century

  
 

Having read Carrie Hughes article Mental Illness in the 19th Century, I was surprised to learn how mentally ill patients were treated in the time period. In today’s society doctors are fully aware that Epilepsy is seizure disorder, which is a physical handicap. However, if a patient began to convulse in the 19th Century, demonic possession would have been blamed, thus providing a legitimate reason to imprison them. A women by the name of Dorothea Dix was outraged at the treatment of the mentally ill, she then volunteered to teach women who were imprisoned. In 1847 she pleaded for the necessary care for the mentally ill, and she played a large role in getting the treatment that the patients deserved.

      I felt very sympathetic for the patients who deserved proper care for their illness, but did not get it. The very idea of sending a patient with perhaps a brain disease to live alone or without treatment is simply unfair. What’s worse is the fact that the people had no say in getting the illness; they received it at birth or in an accident at some point of their life. Thankfully, the understanding of medicine and illnesses has advanced, and the needed treatment is available for all.
      The central idea of the article was to inform the reader of the little treatment that was given to the mentally ill, and the strides people had to take to change that. Overall, Hughes's point was that during the 19th century many people that were mentally handicapped were not treated with the right care. As well as the advancements in care throughout the time period.