History of Mental Illness

Statistical increase 

According to recent studies, the rate of autism diagnoses has increased significantly over the past decade, with a reported rise of around 175% in the number of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) between 2011 and 2022, signifying a substantial increase in diagnosis rates across the lifespan. 

Autism, Down Syndrome, Dyslexia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, ADD and DMD diagnosis have risen substantially over the last 100 years. 

It seems like something is causing more and more mental disorders these days. Before the late 20th century, a lot of these conditions were never heard of!

Can we conclude that more people have autism today than in the past?

Stop

What emotions are you feeling right now? 

Is humanity worse today than in the past?

They key word is "diagnosis". Doctors are recognizing disorders more these days because education and understanding of these diagnosis have increased. 

Fear and an illiteracy in medicine and science might bring you to a conclusion that is inaccurate. 

Why do these mental conditions seem like a modern problem? Let's search for their historical roots. 

While words like autism, down syndrome or schizophrenia weren't used 100 years ago, does that mean they didn't have many mental illnesses back then?

Ancient History of Mental Illness 

From the dawn of human civilization to the enlightenment, mental illness was often attributed to supernatural causes like divine punishment, demonic possession, or the work of evil spirits, leading to treatments like exorcism, prayer, and sometimes, harsh physical interventions. 

Even something like visual impairment, equated to blindness and wasn't curable with glasses for hundreds of thousands of years. Instead, Demons were often held responsible. 

In New Testament times, people had no way to differentiate between brain disorders and demonic possession. Little was known about the causes or treatment of epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, or dementia. Jesus didn't teach medicine. He exorcized Demons. 

"And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke.” (Luke 11:14)

“Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. (Symptoms of epilepsy) So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able…" And so, they brought the boy to Jesus. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth… And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter again.” (Mark 9:14-29, Matt 17:14-21 & Luke 9:37-49)

Genetics, germs and the brain were not understood like they are today. For most of human history, blood letting, sometimes with leaches was a common cure. Sometimes they whipped and beat the sick person in an attempt to make the demon flee. Those who had hallucinations were believed to be divine and fortune tellers. 

In the late Middle Ages, many of those with mental illnesses were the first to be accused of being witches. Those that were different, not-normal and odd were the first to be scapegoated. 

Enlightenment Era

5,000 years later, the era of enlightenment brought on a culture of science and skeptism. Mental Illness was less looked upon as supernatural but a natural condition. Empiricism and naturalistic reasoning convinced many doctors, scientists and professionals that these issues were biological. 

However, just because it was now seen as natural didn't mean life was good for those who were neuro-divergent. Many parents worked long hours and had little time to care for those who needed extra help. Many children were required to work from a young age to help support the family. Children that were too much of a burden were sent to orphanages or mental hospitals. In these hospitals, conditions weren't studied to be understood. Those with conditions were basically locked away. Straitjackets were often used to control those who were difficult to control. 

Some of the documents from these institutions survive today. We can see the labels children were given. Suffering from "Idiocy", "lumatic" and "feeble-mindedness".

Many differently-abled children and adults were taken out of society, isolated away from their families and kept in remote facilities. 

"Eastern Counties Asylum for Idiots and Imbeciles"

Common diagnosis

Idiocy

Feeble minded 

Moron

Phycosis 

Mania 

Lunatic

Cretin 

Melancholia 

Idiot Savants 

Eugenics 

By 1900, governments had embraced the idea of Eugenics. This is the idea of improving the health of a population by stopping the reproduction of those deemed unfit. Many famous people supported this idea. Fear of overpopulation bankrupting countries were on the tops of people's minds. 

In the UK and USA, this meant the forced sterilization of undesirable groups. The principal targets of the American sterilization programs were intellectually disabled people and the mentally ill, but also targeted under many state laws were the deaf, the blind, people with epilepsy, and the physically deformed. While the claim was that the focus was mainly the mentally ill and disabled, the definition of this during that time was much different from today's. At this time, there were many women that were sent to institutions under the guise of being "feeble-minded" because they were promiscuous or became pregnant while unmarried.

A relative minority of sterilizations targeting crime took place in prisons and other penal institutions. 

In the end, over 65,000 individuals were sterilized in 33 states under state compulsory sterilization programs in the United States.

During Nazi Germany, racial hygiene and resource consolidation resulted in Hitler publicly signing a law that approved the state murder of people who were incurable and a strain on the German government. Mentally disabled individuals were sent to the gas chambers. They believe this advanced society. 

In 1941, the prominent Kennedy family were rising in respect. The father, Joseph was US ambassador to the United Kingdom. His son Joseph would become a lieutenant in the air force. His sons Robert and Ted would become a US Senators. His son John F Kennedy would become president. In such a prominent family, reputation was everything. When the young Rosemary Kennedy was becoming increasingly irritable and difficult. She displayed learning delays but her parents worked hard to hide it from the public. From the outside they appeared to be the picture perfect family. In an attempt to solve the issue, Joseph heard of a medical procedure called a lobotomy. Doctors said they could operate on his daughters brain and fix her. Unfortunately, the procedure was experimental and caused irreversible brain damage. Rosemary Kennedy and many others were permanently damaged and made shadows of their former selves. It was quickly apparent that the procedure had caused immense harm. Kennedy's mental capacity diminished to that of a two-year-old child. Kennedy's lobotomy was hidden from the family for 20 years; none of her siblings knew of her whereabouts.

The present-day view of mental illnesses began after WW2. Many, many men returned from fighting the war with extreme anxiety known as "shell shock" or what we now call PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Mental Health Awareness month was established in 1949. Science pushed to solve widespread mental health disorders that has now come widely known within the general public. Many drugs were developed to treat mental conditions with chemical adjustments in the brain. These drugs aren't perfect and some people experience side-effects but these drugs often allow them to participate in society. Those who previously may have been institutionalized can work jobs and go to school like we do. They can marry, go on vacation and go to the movies.