Mental Illness in the 19th Century

At first, mental illness was blamed on witchcraft and demons possessing the human body. Later on, mental illness was blamed on brain damage. If you were mentally ill you were imprisoned, sent to alms houses or remained untreated. In 1841, Dorothea Dix urged for more treatment to the mentally ill in prisons. In 1851, Jacksonville's insane asylum was opened.There was a new method of treatment called "Moral Treatment". This treatment included work, exercise, living in a healthy environment, and education. "Moral Treatment" had a few problems. There were overcrowded hospitals due to lack of progress and unqualified staff members. Some causes of mental illness are due to alcoholism, fright, imprisonment, death, etc. By the 1880's static electricity was used as a treatment. The central point of this article is to explain the causes and treatments of mental illness. I was surprised that some people with mental illness weren't treated. Today there are so many people treating mental illnesses. There are nursing homes, special schools, and many other organizations that cope with this disease and try to find a cure for it.