Psychiatry Vs Religion

Through the Middle Ages and until the establishment of asylums, treatments for mental illness were offered by “humanistic physicians, medical astrologers, apothecaries, and folk or traditional healers” (MacDonald 175). Aside from secular exorcisms, prayers, charms, amulets, and other mystical treatments were available. Sedatives during the 17th century consisted of opium grains to “ease the torment” of mental illness (MacDonald 190).

"World-renowned research psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey believed the techniques used by Western psychiatrists were scientifically similar to techniques used by witch doctors (AMERICAN PSYCHOSIS, 2013)". With this kind of negative light throughout history it can be challenging to convince some that God's love and values can be used by today's psychologists.

During Ancient times, cure and prevention of illness and disease were not very well developed – people would blame their ill health on Gods, witches, demons or other supernatural causes. They had many theories, such as God punishing them for their sins.

During the Roman and Greek era Many people turned to magical/religious remedies, such as going to spend the night in a temple of the healing God, hoping that he would work a cure or give you some advice on how to get cured, while doctors, mainly medical ones sleeked. No one thought that it was the job of the state to care for the mentally ill often referred to as insane. Either their families looked after them, or they ended up on the street in a terrible situation. Greek doctors did not distinguish distinctly between physical and mental disorders, and they did not have concepts that followed with "depression" or "schizophrenia. Greek doctors always tended to think that what we call psychoses and were physiological in nature. In early Greek civilizations therapy for mental illness consisted of removing impurities, which were believed to the cause of psychotic disorders. To achieve this, priests mediated the ill person’s prayers to the Gods to assure his or her cure; with the help of the priest, the person’s heart would be purified of evil. During Roman times, mental disorders were believed to be

During the middle ages, when the church ruled, mental illness was considered a punishment from god. Those suffering would be directed to the church for confession and prayer for forgiveness. It was during this time when Weyer proposed the idea of an unsound mind.

Other practices such as that of a shaman were exorcisms and other operations. In the time of the Romans and Greeks, they viewed abnormalities as a natural cause. One man in particular known as Hippocrates believed this and he began expanding his idea that these abnormalities were caused by a brain pathology that linked with a natural cause illness that developed the abnormality. Treatment would then call for a better and healthier diet and lifestyle. In the middle ages, views of abnormalities came back to the idea of the belief in demons. This was because the church had come to a rise and controlled most of the education system of the people. Like the ancient views of abnormalities the middle age brought back the idea of demonology and performing exorcisms. After the Middle Ages started to wind down, the Renaissance period began to rise and demonology was slowly decreasing. It was believed in this period that the mind was likely to obtain a sickness as much as the body was. Something was influencing the mind and body to become sick and ill, causing these abnormalities. This time period also had shrines that would welcome and care for people who

illness is far greater than reduced desire to engage in what were once comforting activities, or

To understand the importance of treating mental illness ourselves, we must first understand how just a few mental illnesses can affect individuals in a variety of ways. Certain mental

In ancient times mental illness was thought to be witchcraft. How many innocent people were burnt at the stake just because they were suffering with mental illness. In every culture, there are different stories and different ways to deal with it. Some it was seen as spirit possessions, some were seen as madness and some ancient psychiatrists had names for these illnesses. Having been through a mental illness in today's modern time and having a hard enough time as it was, it would have been terrifying in the ancient times to think you are a witch and will be burnt at the stake just because your brain is chemically imbalanced. Even today it is not properly

Today, mental illness has been the scapegoat for most crimes today. From mass shootings to bombings, most people have blamed mental illness for the cause of these crimes. Moreover, even some defense attorneys have even had cases in which they claimed their client had a mental illness in order to receive a lesser sentence. However, in order to truly understand mental illness, we must first look at the history of people studying the brain. The history of the study of the brain, psychology, dates back to ancient Greece. By using the scientific reasoning, Hippocrates speculated that human temperament can vary by a person's physical qualities, such as yellow bile or too much blood (Smith). Many philosophers during this time period might have only

Mental illness, per the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a “condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood. Such conditions may affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function each day. Each person will have different experiences, even people with the same diagnosis,” (Mental Health Conditions). While the actual phrase mental illness cannot be traced back to 6500 BC, the knowledge and possible understanding of that time of someone with a mental illness can be. Ingrid G. Farreras writes in her article titled, “History of Mental Illness,” that “an examination of prehistorical skills and cave art from as early as 6500 BC has identified surgical drilling of holes in skills to treat head injuries and epilepsy as well as to allow evil spirits trapped within the skull to be released,” (Farreras, “History of Mental Illness”). However, the realizations of mental illness continued to grow and by the late middle ages, the theory of the supernatural affecting the mind and causing people to have mental disorders dominated Europe once again. At one point in the 13th century, those who were mentally ill were even executed. However, it was not until the 16th century that hospitals and asylums came about. By the 18th century the views of those who were mentally ill began to shift, no longer were they seen as monstrous creatures, but humans who just needed more care. In literature, while the term mental illness did not make its appearance in early Greek and

Throughout history mental health has always been an area that needs more attention shown to it. There has been many perspectives about what the role of spirituality would play in mental health and physical health within the history of time. Some believe that religious beliefs leads to mental illness. (Ellis, 1980, p. 5) Try to avoid a doctrinal system through which you are dogmatically convinced that you absolutely must devote yourself to the one, only, right, and unerring deity.... Otherwise, in my view as a psychotherapist, you most probably are headed for emotional trouble. (Ellis, 2002, p. 365). Mental health professional’s such as a therapist or psychologist can only give advice to their patients from the knowledge they have received in

Before our current understanding of mental illness, centuries ago, people viewed mental illness in the context of religion and associated it with demonic possession. Now that over 400 million people in the world practice a form of traditional religion, psychologists have grown an interest in studying the effects religion has on individual’s mental health. Existing literature proposes that religion can be a beneficial method of coping, or may hinder mental health delivery. Depending on how each patient views their mental illness, some may refrain from seeking mental health treatment because they believe they could cope with their religious beliefs. Other studies have argued that being religious or spiritual can produce positive

The human body is constructed by millions of cells that work together to create a life-sustaining masterpiece. Each masterpiece is made up of unique DNA, containing the tremendous genetic code that encompasses all human life. A mental disorder can be defined as ” a mental or bodily condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological functioning of the individual” (Webster). It is our human nature to try and find a reason for something outside of the norm, in order to better understand and make sense of what a mental disorder encompasses. Within understanding the mental disorder will allow the capability of further studying the disorder and enabling an individual to be treated properly. Through the development of research conducted, there are multiple arguments supporting deferent claims to the causations behind mental disorders. Each perspective provides validated research and theology behind the mystery of the cause of mental disorders. Critical analysis of each perspective will allow one position to remain most prevalent leading to the ultimate conclusion.

Scientific advances in mental illness were virtually nonexistent during the Middle Ages. Spiritual causes ruled, and those with psychological disorders were classified as morally weak, or were accused of forbidden practices, such as those associated with witchery, sorcery, and the devil (Damour & Hansell, 2005). “Witch hunts” were more common at the height of the 14th and 15th centuries in Europe, accusing many of the mentally ill of practicing witchcraft. Various attempts were made over the years to encourage just treatment of the mentally ill, and various voices of reason attempted to eliminate the stigma of abnormal behavior.