User:Jasmine031502/Mental illness in ancient Greece

Mental illness in ancient Greece From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search

This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Mental illness was an issue that many faced in ancient times much like in the modern world. In ancient Greece, many were divided over what they believed to be the cause of the illness that a patient faced. Some believed it was the punishment of the gods while others believed it to be caused by a physical problem, this led to many variations of treatment ranging from prayer to surgery. It is only through centuries of understanding as well as modern technology that we are now able to diagnose and treat those afflicted properly.

Contents 1      Diagnosis 2	Treatment 3	Role of religion and superstitions 4	Mental illness in society 5	Sources 6      main people dealing with mental illness 7      How dealing with mental illness has changed throughout the years Treatment[edit source] Treatment of mental illness in ancient Greece was a new and experimental process due to the lack of the modern-day tools and technology that allow doctors to identify these mental ailments. Some ancient physicians didn't understand what part of the body was responsible for the strange behavior and turned to prayer and forgiveness from the gods. However most physicians understood mental illness was often caused by physical ailments such as an imbalance of the humors. Hippocrates was a physician that believed that the brain was the center of thought, intelligence and emotion.[1] Because of this he and many others came to the conclusion that mental disorders came from problems with the brain. As time went on and physicians began to better understand mental illness they began to treat patients in different ways. “They were mostly (not entirely) concerned with psychoses (externalizing disorders such as antisocial personality disorder and drug and alcohol use disorders) rather than neuroses (internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety), and they took into account a full range of hard-to-define symptoms including inappropriate behavior in public, delusions, delirium, and hallucinations. Treatments also covered a whole range from physical restraint to counseling; they did not make much use of pharmaceuticals.”[2] In treatment there has been known to be three basic approaches that many people used when dealing with mental illness, according to Georgios Tzeferakos and Athanasios Douzenis those three approaches are the organic, the psychological and the sacred approach, these approaches all came to light at different times as times progressed and people became more knowledgable of mentaller illness. Notes[edit source]- change name to sources ^ Millon, Theodore (2004). "Chapter 1: Demythologizing the Ancients' Spirits". Masters of the Mind: Exploring the Story of Mental Illness from Ancient Times to the New Millennium. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-471-46985-8. OCLC 54460256 – via Google Books. ^ Beck, Julie (23 January 2014). "Diagnosing Mental Illness in Ancient Greece and Rome". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. ^ Porter, Roy (2002). "Gods and Demons". Madness: A Brief History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 10–33. ISBN 978-0-19-280266-8. OCLC 48132341. ^ Corrigan, Patrick W. (September 2002). "Empowerment and Serious Mental Illness: Treatment Partnerships and Community Opportunities". Psychiatric Quarterly. 73 (3): 217–228. doi:10.1023/A:1016040805432. PMID 12143083. ^ Porter, Roy (2002). "Locking up the Mad". Madness: A Brief History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 89–122. ISBN 978-0-19-280266-8. OCLC 48132341. ^ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3991897/ Mental illness in society When looking back at sources like the book Between Sanity and Madness by Allan V. Horwitz, you can instantly tell the confusion the ancient greeks had regrading mental health. They realized that maybe some behaviors are strange but the problem was identifying when to draw the line between something being strange but understandable and something being a result of mental illness. George Rosen speaks on this, "however, it was pointed out that otherwise normal persons could also behave in this way" (Rosen). This brings to light many potential conflicts and shows how limited their knowledge on the subject mental illness actually was. Someone who was truly mentally ill might have their symptoms ignored whereas someone who isn't might be subjected to unneeded treatment due to them preforming a simple behavior that others might considered irrational, like ripping your clothes.