SCIENTIFIC LOOK AT MENTAL DISORDERS

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History and Systems of Psychology PSY502

Lesson 27

SCIENTIFIC LOOK AT MENTAL DISORDERS

Man viewed and explained mental illness and diseases differently in various phases of past history. Starting

from the ancient epoch, up to the present, mental disorders have been attributed to different things such as

soul, mind, etc. As man's thinking went through various phases of development, explanation of mental

disorders also underwent evolution.

The ancient man thought that there was a "soul" inside the body of a person which was regarded as a

person within a person. This soul was responsible for a number of things including some mental symptoms

and diseases. In other words, the explanation of mental diseases according to the ancient man was that

mental diseases are caused by the abnormal activities of the soul. When the soul is disturbed, it causes

mental symptoms to appear.

The ancient man also thought that dreams were the result of soul's activities. According to him, soul

escaped a person's body when he slept and performed certain acts for him. These acts manifested in the

form of dreams.

The ancients also thought that a "mad" person was one who did not take interest in himself and happenings

around him. They thought that "mad" people live in world of their own, and "see" things that are not

present, and are involved in "spiritual experiences."

According to the ancient Greeks and Romans mentally ill people were possessed by spirits. Initially this idea

was held but later as the Greek and Roman civilizations flourished and developed their explanations of

mental disorders and illnesses were also reformed. They saw that mental symptoms are due to medical

problems and not spiritual in nature.

Some people regarded mentally ill people above normal people and thought they could foretell future.

Various decisions were referred to mentally ill people and they were held in high esteem, by these people.

Later in time, mad or mentally ill were regarded as witches and wizards, and instead of treating them they

were tortured and some were burnt to death. This practice was prevalent up to the 14th and the 15th century

when man had become much civilized as compared to the ancient man.

In the ancient times, some people also regarded "mad" or mentally sick as possessed by evil spirits and tried

various means of ridding them of these possessions. Such measures included physical torture, beating,

bleeding and burning alive. One of such measures which were used by the ancient Egyptian civilization was

trepanning. It was the process of drilling a hole in the skull of the mentally ill person to allow the evil or bad

spirit to escape.

As mentioned earlier, from 13th to 14th century the practice of torturing and killing mentally ill people

prevailed. This was mainly because mentally ill people were thought to be witches or wizards or possessed

by the devil. Many women and men were burnt alive for this reason. Even up to the fifteenth century

mentally sick people were considered to be possessed by evil spirits and were very cruelly treated. They were

treated the same as thieves, robbers, and beggars. They were chained, hand-cuffed and imprisoned.

As a result of the French Revolution and the beginning of the end of feudalism, many people had moved to

the cities because villages could not sustain them. There was not much food available and in search of it

they shifted. Further, as a result of the Industrial Revolution many people sought jobs in the industries and

therefore migrated to where they were set up. It resulted in creating of small industrial cities where huge

workforce of the industry dwelled. Furthermore, because of these mass migrations, existing cities and

industrial towns became crowded. In these populous cities, petty crime, unemployment and begging became

rampant. Those found guilty of such crimes were held and kept alongside those who were considered

mentally ill. This was one of the problems of the industrial revolution and the French revolution. Although

the outlook of mankind had changed and had become more rational, the problem of dealing with crimes

and mentally ill people became a daunting challenge. The need therefore arose to separate criminals and

History and Systems of Psychology PSY502

group such people together and find a common solution for such social problems. The solution was to label

them mentally sick and put them in asylums and institutions specially made for such people. These

institutions were not meant to separate the mentally ill people from the society but their main aim was to

help these people recover. That is why Paris and Lyons, in France, and Bristol and Norwich in England

established asylums or institutions to house such people.

In other words, the purpose of these places was to "discipline" and "cure" the inmates. And the way to

"cure" them was to put them to work. Thus the criminal and the mentally ill were treated alike, put at the

same place and work was suggested as the main "cure" of their problems.

Putting the blame on individuals of the social changes and upheavals such as disappearance of feudalism

and the beginning of industrialization is termed scapegoating. Thus mentally sick people became the

scapegoats of problem arising from the end of feudalism and the problems of industrialization.

In the middle and end of the 18th century, as the outlook of man became more scientific and rational,

mental illness was beginning to be regarded as nervous diseases. This marked the beginning of a scientific

outlook towards mental diseases.

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