The second leading cause of premature death among illnesses is mental illness. A mental illness is a psychiatric disorder that results from the disruption in a person's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others. Mental illness is distinct from the legal concept of insanity. It's crazy (not literally) to think of how many people suffer from a mental illness today. At least, 44.3 million American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. 10 million American adults have a major depressive disorder. 2.3 million American adults have bipolar disorder. 2.2. million American adults have schizophrenia. And the most startling statistic...less than 50% of schizophrenic and bipolar patients are treated.
             Now imagine similar statistics 150 years ago. The treatments so common today did not exist. Technology and knowledge also so common today did not exist. People with these illnesses were shunned and judged against. There was nothing that could be done; you just had to deal with it. Those with an illness mentioned above were viewed as "different" and didn't have an avenue to let out their feelings and emotions. Many of those individuals used writing as a means to let it all out. Reading stories from the early 19th Century, one could distinguish a mentally ill character and/or author quite easily. That was really the only method these authors had to be who they were and not be judged. The depiction of the mentally ill and emotionally maimed is one of the major directions in the following selections: Fall of the House of Usher, Bartleby the Scrivener, and The Yellow Wallpaper.
             Knowledge about illnesses back in the 1800s was not very good. Common belief dictates that odors from water could cause mental illness of the type suffered by Roderick Usher in the "Fall of the House of Usher." Also, the deceased are commonly laid in state at home for several days. Few, if any, effective treatments were available for mental illness...