Psychopathy in historical context Flashcards
psychological disorder
psychological dysfunction associated with distress or impairement in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected
atypical or not culturally expected
infrequent and/or a violation of social norms
how do we define “abnormal” behaviour (5 ways)
statistical infrequency
violations of social norms
personal suffering (depression, psychopathy)
disability or dysfunction
unexpectedness (distress or disability is “unreasonable”)
hysteria
extreme emotions, linked to women’s “unpredictable bodies” and emotions
“caused due to lack of sex/pregnancy”
wandering womb> womb moves around body, attaching to other parts of body causing issues
vibrator invented to get rid of bulit up sexual feelings
eventually rid of this label in 1980
shell shock
brought questions about hysteria to light
similar symptoms to hysteria
genetic vulnerability
people do vary in genetic vulnerability to psycholigical disorders, it is not all nurture
mental health and COVID-19
before covid:
- 1/5 canadians screened positive for symptoms of depression, and anxiety/PTSD (fall 2020)
after covid:
- spring 2021
- 1/4 canadians screened positive
- 94% reported that the pandemic negatively impacted them (social isolation, job loss, etc.)
mental illness stigma
-mentally ill often seen as incurable, unstable, and dangerous
-when in reality: severe mental illness is ONLY linked to violence if co-occuring with substance abuse/dependece> and only 20% of people with a mental illness have a co-occuring substance use disorder
- negative media depictions can inhibit help-seeking, medication adherence, and recovery
- ONLY 40% of canadians suffering from depression or anxiety seek treatment
- over 50% of canadians that suffer from mood, anxiety, or substance dependence reported discrimination and embarrassment
schizophrenia stigma
-often misrepresented or sensationalized in media (negatively depicted)
- often seen as violent WHEN IN REALITY there is only a weak link to violence, and that is when it is untreated, severe, and accompanied by substance abuse
- up to 50% of people with schizophrenia have a substance abuse disorder
demonic possesion
psychological disorders often seen as demonic possession, treatments were exorcism, shaving a cross into their hair, securing them to a church wall, trephination
witchcraft
- MI often seen as witchcraft, many of the people that were executed during the witch trails were likely suffering from MI (those who had a “loss for reason”- meaning delusions and hallucinations)
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social misfortunes
mentally ill were often scapegoated as the causes for social misfortunes such as plague, famines, droughts, natural disasters, etc.)
lunacy/lunatic
the movement of moon and stars affect psyche
luna> latin for moon
hippocrates
father of modern medicine
coined term “hysteria”
saw the brain as a set of consiousness, wisdom, intelligence, emotion
saw psychopathy as caused by brain pathology or head trauma
normal brain functioning depends upon balance of 4 humours/bodily fluids
4 “humours”
1) melancholia/sadness: too much black bile (earth)
2) sluggishness/apathy: too much phlegm (water)
3) irritability: too much yellow bile (fire)
4) moodiness: too much blood (air)
infection, brain damage, psychopathy
late stage syphillis causes psychopathy
emil kraepelin
mental illness as syndromes
2 main classifications: dementia praecox and manic-depressive psychosis
dementia praecox
chemical imbalance possibly?
schizophrenia
manic-depressive psychosis
irregular metabolism possibly?
bipolar
biological treatments
electric shock therapy, brain surgery, insulin shock therapy
these stopped when psychiatric medications were introduced
john p grey
pushed for the idea that psychological disorders have physical causes
asylums
16th cen onwards
confined mentally ill and beggars/homeless
converted from leprosariums
no standard treatment protocol
st mary bethelem
horrible conditions: some chained and locked up while others free to roam; lack of bathroom facilities; terrible nutrition
moral treatment in asylums
1700s
some asylums began to provide quiet and religious places for the mentally ill to live, work, and rest
patients chained removed, treated as “normal” people who were sick
