Amelia Divine Madness

However, as highlighted by the Time to Change initiative, media depictions have continued to portray mental health in stigmatising ways. Research has suggested the media continues to present false, misleading, stereotyped and negative information to the public about mental health. This occurs through various media sources, including newspaper articles, films and portrayals of mental illness in TV programs.

Hippocrates was the first to recognize that mental illness was due to ‘disturbed physiology’ as opposed to ‘displeasure of the gods or evidence of demonic possession’. It was not until about one thousand years later that the first place designated for the mentally ill came to be in 15th century Spain. Before the 15th century, it was largely up to individual’s families to care for them. By the 17th century, society was ‘often housing them with handicapped people, vagrants, and delinquents. Those considered insane are increasingly treated inhumanely, often chained to walls and kept in dungeons’. There are great strides for the medical treatments for the mentally

Since the social causation hypothesis is more narrow and only accounts for the assumption that schizophrenia results from stress (one hypothesis for the development of schizophrenia), the downward drift hypothesis seems to better explain the disproportionate numbers of schizophrenics in the lower socioeconomic classes. Moreover, a number of estimations have claimed that between one-third and two-thirds of homeless individuals have schizophrenia (1).

Records of the disease date back to old Pharaonic Egypt, but it was not until 1887 that it was fully discovered by Dr. Emile Kraepelin. The disease was not dubbed schizophrenia until 1911 by Eugen Bleuler. One place most people have heard of schizophrenia is when the subject of witches or evil possessions come up. The most notable appearance of evil possessions found in history that was most likely schizophrenia would be the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s. Modern day scientist believe that the women accused may have actually been suffering from schizophrenia due to signs they exhibited according the records taken during the trials. Until almost recently people with diseases such as schizophrenia were classified as being abnormal and many were subdued to horrible tests that are today considered inhuman and sometimes seen as forms of torture. “Early theories

Dohrenwend, Bruce P., Itzhak Levav, Patrick Shrout, Sharon Schwartz, Guedalia Naveh, Bruce Link, Andrew Skodol, and Ann Stueve. 1992. “Socioeconomic Status and Psychiatric Disorders: The Causation-Selection Issue.” Science 255:946–52.

Schizophrenia, although affecting only one percent of the population, has a direct affect on society today. This disease, if left untreated, poses threat to health care professionals (including psychiatrists), law enforcement personnel, and family members responsible for the care and support of the schizophrenia patient. This paper addresses the causes of schizophrenia and the myths surrounding this complicated ailment, the affect of untreated or misunderstood aspects of schizophrenia has on society and important crisis intervention strategies for those in close contact to victims of schizophrenia.

The article was written by Frederick J. Frese III, Edward L. Knight and Elyn Saks; all trained professionals specialising in schizophrenia. This article focuses on schizophrenia and the history and evolution of treatments that have been used. It looks to shed

When Schizophrenia was first discovered it was looked at as dementia praecox, a term introduced by Dr. Kraepelin. The term generally refers to any type of psychotic disorder characterized by the distortion of reality. When Kraepelin introduced the term the mentally ill were looked down on in the religious world. Patients were seen as being corrupted by the devil and one form of a treatment for these patients was an exorcism, in an attempt to rid the body and soul of the demons. In turn, people were finding that the exorcisms had no effect on the patients and they took treatments a step further by submerging the patient in ice baths until they lost consciousness. When the treatment failed yet again, doctors would drill a hole into the skull of the patient.

The treatment of mental illness dates back to 500BC. It was believed at that time that the mentally ill were possessed by demonic spirits. In some instances patients were also believed to be witches. “In ancient Mesopotamia, priest-doctors

This mental disease was first identified by a German physician Dr. Emile Kraepelin in 1887. He used the term “dementia praecox” believing this was a disease of the brain. Eugene Bleur later on changed the name to schizophrenia, as the name before was misleading. Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), convinced many that this disorder was due to childhood experiences (LLC, 2017). ‘Fever therapy’ used to be a treatment used by physicians in the twenties.

Mental health has been studied for centuries now. There have been fast differences major evolutional discoveries and changes since mental health has been researched and studied. Many theorists have been pioneers in their respective studies and laid the blueprint for what it is today. One of the interesting diagnosis’s during the early development is how Schizophrenia is a diagnosis that has been misunderstood over the centuries. The criteria that would determine one such a label, has shifted drastically. Although it has shifted and the information we have today is much more polished due to the amount of research and studies that have taken place, it’s important to learn and know the history behind how schizophrenia came to be and how it was coined to become such a noticeable and intricate part of diagnosis’s in psychology. Leading the way in the foundation and discovery of

“Schizophrenia” is a relatively new label of an illness that has been identified throughout history since ancient Egyptian times. Prior to being named in 1911 by Eugen Bleuler, reports of illness with similar symptoms were being referred to as “dementia praecox”, meaning dementia in early life (The Internet Mental Health Initiative, 2015). Bleuler questioned the claim that this illness was a result of mental deterioration and instead believed “schizophrenia led to a heightened consciousness of memories and experiences” (Sussex Publishers, LLC., 2015). Bleuler combined Greek words “schizo” (split) and “phrene” (mind) to more accurately describe what he had observed in patients. He did not believe that the mind split into parts or personalities, but more so that the mind would split away from reality and existence into an altered state (Sussex Publishers, LLC., 2015).

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that has haunted man-kind for centuries. Documents have been found aging this disease to the times of the Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. The first diagnosed case was in 1887 and made a huge impact in mental disease (Burton). Emile Kraepelin was the one who first diagnosed schizophrenia and his work still impacts the DSM-classifications (Ebert). Schizophrenia has typically been looked down upon by cultures throughout time. There are many stereotypical and incorrect thoughts on schizophrenia that have stemmed from past generations. Past cultures have thought of schizophrenia as the devils entrance into the present world. Their views of “becoming crazy” stem from the demonizing of a person through

Similar to Ross et al., Gallagher and Jones (2017) attempted to seek similarities between characteristics of AOS and EOS, specifically regarding the effects of low socioeconomic status (SES). It has been previously reported that those with AOS born into low SES have an increased risk for negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, the relationship between EOS and low SES is not entirely known. The sample of 642 schizophrenic patients included those who reported their first episode before 18 years of age and were diagnosed with the third edition of the DSM (DSM-III). Patient information was collected from 1984 through 1990 and originated from one hospital’s documents that included information from the entirety of each persons’ stay. Symptoms were classified into positive or negative symptoms. Negative symptoms are seen as more severe in that they cause the most impairment in daily life. Classification of SES was only considered at the time of the patients’ births and was collected from the ‘social history’ section of the hospital record. The categories included low SES and high SES, similar to how

Biological, psychological, and sociocultural viewpoints have been developed in an attempt to explain schizophrenia. All three viewpoints point out various factors that may contribute to the development of the disorder.