a timeline of mental illness from the 1600's- present

In the 1600's mental illness was viewed as a disease and the people at the time isolated themselves from the mentally ill, treating them as delinquents and inhumanely, often they were kept in dungeons and treated harshly towards, there are records that show that chains and violence was used as a treatment.

A man by the name Philippe Pinel also known as "the father of modern psychiatry", in the late 1700's made an approach towards the mentally ill and took over the Bicetre insane asylum in the center of Paris where he prevents the further use of violence, chains, shackles and dungeons and gave the mentally ill better and healthier shelter.

In 1713, more options begin to open for the mentally ill and a Lunatic Ward for men opens, also in 1744 Construction of naval hospitals begin to take place. The Haslar hospital built between 1745 came to be one of the most important, It became the main lunatic asylum for the navy and offered treatment which at times seemed to work.

In the 1840's Dorothea Dix, a former teacher had volunteered to teach a class for woman inmates, in March of 1841 at the East Cambridge Jail, she at the moment had no insight on the mentally ill, but upon her visit she saw how cruelly they were treated, inspired by this she researched more about the mentally ill. In 1842 she asked a question not many asked " why was the jail in these conditions?", the answered she received was "the insane do not feel heat or cold". Furious by this she urges Pope Pius IX to view how cruel and harsh the mentally ill are treated. After her death a hospital is named after her.



In 1883 German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin distinguishes mental disorders more throughout fully although some of his findings have been proved to be wrong.

Between the late 1800's and 1887 State mental hospitals become over-crowded. Nellie Bly reporter for the New York World, also known for her trip around the world accepted an undercover assignment that agreed to pose as a mentally ill person in order to investigate further on the reports made about brutality and neglect towards the mentally ill. After her experience she wrote the following :

"What, excepting torture, would produce insanity quicker than this treatment? Here is a class of women sent to be cured. I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, give her no reading and let her know nothing of the world or its doings, give her bad food and harsh treatment, and see how long it will take to make her insane. Two months would make her a mental and physical wreck."

She published Ten days in a madhouse after her experience, which changed the world and the grand jury called for an increased in funds and care for the insane which raised $850,000 for the mentally ill.

Around 1933, Germany under Hitler's rulings not only wanted to eliminate the Jews but also the mentally ill, seeing them as different and disturbing. The Nazi's attacked mental asylums in attempts to get rid of the mentally ill. In addition he passed the Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring.

Later in the 1930's drugs, therapy, and surgery are used to treat people with mental illnesses, but it doesn't turn out as well as some plan after many people become infected with malaria. Electro-shock therapy also is used over the years as a treatment for depression and schizophrenia.

On July 3 of 1946 President Harry Truman signs the National Mental Health Act. The national mental health act forced more research into the fields of mind, brain, and behavior to find a cure or reduce the number of mental illness victims.

In 1949 lithium is introduced to treat psychosis by an Australian psychiatrist J. F. J. Cade. Before the time of Lithium there were other drugs in use, drugs such as bromides and barbiturates which were proved to be ineffective, yet to this day lithium is used frequently. A year later more options occur for the mentally ill, new drugs to help control the symptoms of mental illness, drugs like chlorpromazine etc.

In the Mid 1950's, the number of mentally ill increases all over Europe and the united states. Europe goes from 7,000 patients in 1850 to 120,000 in 1930 and 150,000 in 1954. In the United States there were more than 560,000 in 1955. This was a cause of wrong diagnosis. people saw strange behavior as a mental illness and only had a seldom outlook on the mentally disease.

In 1979 The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill also known as NAMI is founded. It was an organization for schizophrenic patients and their families, it provided support, education and advocacy. It was one of the most effective groups for the mentally ill and to this day still holds a spot.

In 1986 Advocacy groups join together and create the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression they raised funds for brain disorder research never with any government help of some sort.





In the 1990's, even more successful drugs are introduced, they were more effective, and had fewer side effects, such as risperidone etc, which was approved by the Food and drug administration (FDA).




Since the 1600's there have been major improvement for the lives of the mentally ill, the world changed from not accepting them and treating them as animals, to respecting and encouraging more studies to help the ill.



Reflection
I had the timeline in mind, but i was never too sure if i was going to write one, so i began to do some research and i found interesting things that i had never heard before so then i made up my mind and decided to write the timeline, and it also helped my with the next genres i was going to do, because i had more insight on its history