Dorothea Dix Mental Health

Mental Illness in the 1800's: something needed to be done If you had a mental illness in the 1800's you'd be put into an asylum which usually had horrible conditions. Thanks to Dorothea Dix that is not how we treat mentally ill people today. Dorothea Dix reformed society by showing the gov. how people were treated in these asylums and wanted to make the conditions better by, for example putting in libraries.

In the late 1800’s people with mental illness weren 't accomdated like people are today. Often people with illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, we 're teased and forced to lock themselves in a room away from civilization. No one truly cared for those with mental illness or tried to find out ways to accomdate them in school or regular life. Even when mental hospitals became more helpful those suffering from different illnesses would rather stay at home in fear than to seek professional help because of the risk of getting teased or called pathetic. The mentally ill patients were made prisoners, sent to alms houses or forced to remain at home because the first colonist believed they were “sick in the head” due to practicing

Before the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980, people with mental health illnesses were confined to public psychiatric hospitals where they were neglected and poorly medicated. Patients’ needs were unmet due to the lack of knowledge and prevention services which led to a number of deaths of the mentally ill. Due to the lack of services, hospitals were not equipped with early detection or prevention programs that would have reduced the number of hospitalized patients. Before the federal government partnered with the state 's, funding was limiting which led to the government overlooking the individual needs of each community or state. Another problem that needed revision was aftercare.

The issues of mental illness have been around from the start of human existence. Mental illness is considered any psychiatric disorder that cause untypical behavior. Questioning happened more in the 1930’s when more problems came around and how to fix it began to arise. Mental illness included the diseases, the cures, One of the illnesses that was very common was Schizophrenia. This is a” long-term mental disease that affects how your brain works.

Today , in the 20th century , there is a shortage of care for the mentally ill and some are in jails and the streets because of the government won 't help their needs . So , you may be thinking it is no big deal and it may not affect you , but it does affect half million people out there . The patients who died in asylums , many years ago who were treated like animals .

The stigma of mental health and stability has been a rampant issue for decades, although one that is frequently overlooked. Studies have shown that historical events such as the Industrial Revolution that caused massive migrations and poor living conditions for the middle and lower classes wreaked psychological havoc for generations. Many of these psychological effects like lower standards of professional satisfaction, and "regional patterns of personality and well-being" (Jasper Hamill) are still prominent today. In the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores the effects of mental health on women in the 1890s, and how the stigmas surrounding the topic of mental health lead to the oppression and unjust persecution

“...Insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience.” These words were spoken in front of the General Court of Massachusetts by Joseph S. Dodd in January of 1843. Dodd spoke for Dorothea Dix, since women were not allowed to present cases to the Court. Dorothea Dix was a reformer in the 19th century, and went to extreme measures to take a stand for the mentally ill.

Dorothea Dix Dorothea Dix reformed the conditions of prisoners and the mentally ill. Dorothea had realized that a few prisoners weren't even guilty, they just had mental illnesses. Dorothea´s life work became telling the public about the conditions the inmates were in and also the mentally ill. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott Early on, Elizabeth and Lucrecia had organized a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls.

Involuntary admission and medication have been administered to the mentally ill and disabled for centuries; this course began in the 1800s when the first insane asylum opened in Britain after the 1808 County Asylum Act. While many organizations are aimed at equal rights for all who are not a direct danger to themselves or others, there is still large injustice for the mentally handicapped when his/her rights are violated by being pushed into unnecessary hospitalization. Countless innocent, mentally ill people are impacted by having treatments they are involuntarily given; fortunately, organizations such as Mental Disability Rights International are attempting to make a difference by fighting against the treatment the mentally disabled receive

The year is 1615 in Colonial America. Colonists face several different problems: war with natives, rivalry with Spain, inability to adapt to the new climate...and, for Colonists suffering from a mental illness, there was the very real fear of being killed or thrown out into the wild. During this time period (and for many thousands of years before), the explanation for mental illness was simple--clearly a demon had possessed their soul(Leupo). As time progressed, stigmas around mental illness progressed as well. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much.

The stigma and the detriments of being mentally disabled in the United States are rarely discussed amongst politicians. Mental health is seen as a taboo topic, which once opened all chaos shall be released. It is because of local, state, and federal politicians lack of courage to tackle this chaotic issue that the continued unfair treatment of mentally disable people is continued. This ignorance of politicians violates a principle that should never be violated, that a human’s dignity should never be ignored no matter the circumstance. Mental health is a can of worms that needs to be opened.

Religion played an important role in each of the British colonies. Many Christian groups tried to enforce religious observance through the colony's government and the local town's rules. Some laws stated that everyone must attend a house of worship and pay taxes that helped fund the pay of ministers. Out of the thirteen colonies, only eight had official churches. In the colony, those who practice a different version of Christianity or a non- Christian faith were sometimes killed (www.facinghistory.org 1).