Rake’s Progress: Bedlam in Bethlam Essay -- British History, Mental He

Rake’s Progress: Bedlam in Bethlam The human brain is a vast, unexplainable, and unpredictable organ. This is the way that many modern physicians view the mind. Imagine what physicians three hundred years ago understood about the way their patients thought. The treatment of the mentally ill in the eighteenth century was appalling. The understanding of mental illness was very small, but the animalistic treatment of patients was disgusting. William Hogarth depicts Bethlam, the largest mental illness hospital in Britain, in his 1733 painting The Madhouse1. The public’s view of mental illness was very poor and many people underestimated how mentally ill some patients were. The public and the doctors’ view on insanity was changing constantly, making it difficult to treat those who were hospitalized2. â€Å"Madhouses† became a dumping ground for people in society that could not be handled by the criminal justice system. People who refused to work, single mothers, and children who refused to follow orde rs were being sent to mental illness hospitals3. A lack of understanding was the main reason for the ineptness of the health system to deal with the mentally ill, but the treatment of the patients was cruel and inhumane. The British’s handling of mentally ill patients was in disarray. The knowledge of mental illness was very small. Doctors did not understand how to diagnosis or treat mental disorders. They did not understand how the brain functioned and what to expect from people in certain situations. Many symptoms of physical illness today were considered mental illness in the eighteenth century. The constant shaking due to Parkinson’s disease was misinterpreted as a mental condition and treated as such4. These patients were placed into... ...glish Madness. 55. 18. Scull, â€Å"Moral Treatment Reconsidered.† 107. 19. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 11. 20. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 11. 21. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 14. Bibliography Hogarth, William. The Madhouse. 1733. Scull, Andrew. â€Å"Moral Treatment Reconsidered: Some Sociological Comments on an Episode in the History of British Psychiatry.† In Madhouses, Mad-doctors and Madmen, edited by Andrew Scull. 105-121. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981). Scull, Andrew. â€Å"The Social History of Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† In Madhouses, Mad-doctors and Madmen, edited by Andrew Scull, 5-35. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981. Skultans, Vieda. English Madness: Ideas on Insanity 1580-1890. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. 1979. Rake’s Progress: Bedlam in Bethlam Essay -- British History, Mental He Rake’s Progress: Bedlam in Bethlam The human brain is a vast, unexplainable, and unpredictable organ. This is the way that many modern physicians view the mind. Imagine what physicians three hundred years ago understood about the way their patients thought. The treatment of the mentally ill in the eighteenth century was appalling. The understanding of mental illness was very small, but the animalistic treatment of patients was disgusting. William Hogarth depicts Bethlam, the largest mental illness hospital in Britain, in his 1733 painting The Madhouse1. The public’s view of mental illness was very poor and many people underestimated how mentally ill some patients were. The public and the doctors’ view on insanity was changing constantly, making it difficult to treat those who were hospitalized2. â€Å"Madhouses† became a dumping ground for people in society that could not be handled by the criminal justice system. People who refused to work, single mothers, and children who refused to follow orde rs were being sent to mental illness hospitals3. A lack of understanding was the main reason for the ineptness of the health system to deal with the mentally ill, but the treatment of the patients was cruel and inhumane. The British’s handling of mentally ill patients was in disarray. The knowledge of mental illness was very small. Doctors did not understand how to diagnosis or treat mental disorders. They did not understand how the brain functioned and what to expect from people in certain situations. Many symptoms of physical illness today were considered mental illness in the eighteenth century. The constant shaking due to Parkinson’s disease was misinterpreted as a mental condition and treated as such4. These patients were placed into... ...glish Madness. 55. 18. Scull, â€Å"Moral Treatment Reconsidered.† 107. 19. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 11. 20. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 11. 21. Scull, â€Å"Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† 14. Bibliography Hogarth, William. The Madhouse. 1733. Scull, Andrew. â€Å"Moral Treatment Reconsidered: Some Sociological Comments on an Episode in the History of British Psychiatry.† In Madhouses, Mad-doctors and Madmen, edited by Andrew Scull. 105-121. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981). Scull, Andrew. â€Å"The Social History of Psychiatry in the Victorian Era.† In Madhouses, Mad-doctors and Madmen, edited by Andrew Scull, 5-35. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981. Skultans, Vieda. English Madness: Ideas on Insanity 1580-1890. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. 1979.