Way back in the day, therapy for "mental illness" was written about. Hippocrates, for example, thought that such problems had a physical cause. It would be due to an improper ratio of blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, or the 4 body fluids. From there, therapies such as venesection (draining blood) or vomiting therapy were developed.
Greeks, Romans and the rest...
Plato conceived of divine causation and divided problems into 4 categories:
- Prophetic insanity (from Apollo)
- Religious insanity (from Dionysos)
- Poetic insanity (from the muses)
- Erotic insanity (derived from both Aphrodite and Eros)
The Romans only had two ideas about it at the time. When someone mentally dropped out it could only mean two things. Either he wanted to withdraw from society and his obligations or it was a reaction to the environment which caused stress.
With the former, you were tortured and tortured for trying to get out of it. However, when you had symptoms of stress from your environment, rest was prescribed and hot baths.
You see, historically, many such illnesses were fought with rest or by very different means. But with the entry of the church and its dogmas, that was pushed into the background. The church introduced that those people did not need rest, no they were possessed by the devil. Especially when you began to show symptoms of insanity. Then only one more thing could happen and that was an exorcism.
Possessed by the Devil they are.
Often those people were burned or exiled. They did not get help because the monasteries were then afraid they would bring in the devil himself. Those people were no longer sure of their lives and had to live a nomadic existence.
Now, by the way, it is still possible to get an exorcism from a priest when someone is out of regular treatment. Since 1998 there has been a new church ordinance for that, which states that if it is not an "illness" that the priest can possibly perform an exorcism.
The devil is then not expelled but placed under an oath so that he can no longer perform anything. To some people this may sound like very separate, but I am of the opinion if it works, it works.
Dolhouses and Asylums
At some point, so-called madhouses for those labeled insane came into existence. Before then, insanity was still reasonably accepted, provided you made your contribution to society. If you didn't, you had a problem as you have read above.
The first madhouse was opened in Spain in 1409 and in the Netherlands in 1425. You have to imagine that "insane" in those days meant "deviant from the norm. This could include antisocial behavior, addicts, dementia sufferers or epilepsy sufferers. The chances of getting out of such a madhouse alive were nil.
Now it was true that places there were limited so by no means everyone could enter such a madhouse. The therapy often consisted of confinement, whipping and tying people up. In the course of the 18th century this changed when doctors became in charge.
Engaging more physicians in therapy
A clearer distinction was also then made between people who are "mentally ill" and those with behaviors that deviate from the norm. More peace was created and that was also the basis of therapy. More peace, space and structure. You probably remember that from your grandmother or mother who always said, "Rest, regularity and cleanliness. Some people still put the r of respect after that. I think that is still the basis from which we should look.
Is there peace and is there regularity. You see now in many families that sometimes children don't even know where they sleep at night. With mom or dad. In my opinion, that's not quite ok. That creates unrest and of course you can give them a pill, but often the cause lies in very different aspects.
Fortunately, times have changed a bit now but still the pill is a favorite while there are more options. Download the Hypnosis 2.0 report below and be amazed at the hypnosis therapy form as Hypnosis Institute does and teaches it.
