Historical views of mental health Flashcards
What is trepanation?
Where holes are drilled into the skull in order to release ‘demons’
Many survived this process
When is the earliest record of trepanation?
Skulls found dated back to 6500BC
Describe the historical timeline of trepanation being used to treat mental health.
-Hippocrates (c. 460-377BC) gave instructions
-Middle ages + renaissance saw trepanation as cure for seizures etc
What is a prefrontal leucotomy and when was it used?
-Late 19th century
-Involved cutting a hole in skull and using an instrument to destroying parts of the brain
What is a lobotomy and what was it used for?
-Used in 20th century
-Similar process to leucotomy, destroys the nerve pathways in the prefrontal cortex behind the eye
-Was normally used for those suffering mental conditions such as schizophrenia or depression.
What were the risks of lobotomies?
Life altering affects such as being left with a physical disability
-Loss of memory
-Changes in personality
-Seizures
-Death!
What was the term ‘Madness’ attributed to in the Old testament era?
As a punishment from god
What did early civilisations such as the Chinese and Ancient Egyptians view mental health as a result of?
Result of possession by demons, treatment included exorcism techniques
What did Greek physician Hippocrates say about the cause of mental health?
-Believed mental illness wasn’t caused by supernatural forces,
-Instead caused naturally by the imbalance of the 4 humours
What are the four humours?
-Blood
-Phlegm
-Yellow Bile
-Black bile
The excess of what humour was thought to be the cause of depression?
Black Bile, caused Melancholy,
removed by blood-lettings
What was the ancient roman’s view on melancholia and the 4 humours.
-Rejected 4 humour view
-Replaced with belief that melancholy resulted from emotions such as rage, fear + grief
-Anxious people more prone to disturbances of the mind
What was Cicero’s questionnaire for the assessment of mental disorders?
Series of 5 books discussing emotions of the soul and how they should be approached
-Promoted idea that madness is punishment from god, and can be expelled by religion.
What book was written in 1583 that was influential in claiming witchcraft to be considered a mental illnesss?
The deception of demons,
written by Johann Weyer
What did the book, the deception of demons outline about mental illness?
Madness is caused by natural causes,
-Hysteria and epilepsy confused with witchcraft, more common in women.
-Less women got killed as understanding of hysteria increased.
