Fundamentals of the Mentally Ill

             Throughout history people have had altered concepts about the mentally insane and those with mental disorders. During World War II three out of every five beds in the 79 veterans' hospitals were filled with patients suffering from nervous disorders or mental diseases [Ridenour 55]. In recent years psychiatrists, psychologists, and other psychoanalysts have managed to pinpoint reasons and provide answers for many cases of mental illness. Understanding insanity and other disorders involves knowing the history, defining factors, and methods of treating mental illness in modern society.
             The English were not unfamiliar with suicide and insanity. In the early seventeenth century the literate public became concerned and fascinated with medical psychology [MacDonald 2]. Family was an important element in society [MacDonald 4]. The preoccupation with family affairs led to labeling the severity of madness in that era. Symptoms of "violent madness" were concentrated on irrational behavior and mainly threats to the immediate family [MacDonald 4].
             Economic change and overpopulation hindered the protection and intellectual growth of the English people [MacDonald 3]. There was a parallel rise in the rate of suicide and insanity with the growing population and instability of the economy [MacDonald 3]. Families were beside themselves without the knowledge or capacity to cope with a suicide or sudden insanity of a loved one.
             The governing classes claimed to know sufficient procedures of curing insanity and mental illness [MacDonald 2]. They embraced incarcerating lunatics, depriving them of their familiar home life and social surroundings. These actions truly made them victims of mental diseases [MacDonald 2]. The governing classes also shunned spiritual and magical practice of healing [MacDonald 2]. Private citizens and municipal officials interested in treating the insane founded mental illness institutions and other facilitie...

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Fundamentals of the Mentally Ill. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:00, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/28196.html