Everybody’s chemical makeup is unique. Discovering how everyone functions is an interesting process involving many different techniques and tools. Throughout previous years, the evolution of treating mental illness has improved drastically due to new medicines, physical therapy, and treatment centers. However, there are still controversial methods used today, including the use of prescription drugs. Finding the best methods of treatment can take a long time because of how everyone reacts to new substances entering Their bodies. With new technology such as MRI and CT scans help identify where the issue is located, making it easier to find the right treatment. The first methods of treatment were simple and included three basic theories of the …show more content…
For example, someone who was too temperamental suffered from too much blood and thus blood-letting would be the necessary treatment. Psychogenic relates to traumatic or stressful experiences, maladaptive learned associations and cognitions, or distorted perceptions. The etiological theories determine the care and treatment the mentally ill receive. Though the Greek physician Galen (AD 130-201) rejected the notion of a wandering uterus, he agreed with the theory of an imbalance of the humors causing mental illness. Galen also opened the door for psychogenic explanations, however, by allowing the experience of psychological stress as a potential cause of abnormality. These theories were ignored for centuries as physicians attributed mental illness to physical causes throughout the most of the millennium. Beginning in the 13th century, mentally ill women were to be …show more content…
Also, there are many types of disorders to be picked from. Depression is one of the most major and easily identifiable, though people tend to hide it away. Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. To trace it back in history, the first signs of it emerged around the 5th century B.C. and was originally called melancholia. At the time, it was considered to be a form of demonic possession only to be cured by noble priests. The first understandings were that it was a spiritual problem rather than a physical one. Literature of the time was filled with references to mental illness caused by spirits or demons. The early Babylonian, Chinese, and Egyptian civilizations also viewed mental illness as a form of demonic possession, and used exorcism techniques (such as beatings, restraint, and starvation) designed to drive demons out of the afflicted person's body as treatments. In one of hippocrates works, he recommended diet, exercise, distraction, travel, purgatives (cleansers that purge the body of toxins), bloodletting, herbal remedies, marriage, and even music therapy as
This practice relieved pressure on the brain so some individuals actually saw improvement in their conditions (Lawson, 2012). Another treatment was the use of exorcism which was used to drive out evil spirits from mentally ill patients. This treatment was very common and usually conducted by clergy as the church was very influential during this time. Again, mental illness was believed to be cause by demons that took possession of the individual. It was not uncommon for everyone to wear charms, amulets, and use potions to keep evil spirits away. During the Roman rule, Hippocrates who is often referred to as the father of medicine, questioned prevailing superstitious beliefs and proposed more rational and scientific explanations for mental disorders. He believed that since the brain was the central organ of intellectual activity, deviant behavior was caused by brain pathology, a dysfunction or disease of the brain. Hippocrates considered heredity and environment important factors in psychopathology. This research led to the classification of mental illnesses into three categories – mania, melancholia, and phrenitis. He considered phrenitis as brain fever. According to vocabulary.com, phrenitis was an inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus. Symptoms included headaches, neck pain and drowsiness, fever and nausea. This term is no longer in use today. Hippocrates provided detailed clinical descriptions of disorders that fell into
Evidence of Schizophrenia can be found as far back as biblical times. For example, in the old testament, when King Saul became mad when he neglected his duties as king. “But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him” 1 Samuel 16:14 In this time period, ‘madness’ was not thought of as a disease, but as a punishment from God, or demonic possession. It wasn’t until the time of the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) that madness began to be treated as an illness. Hippocrates believed that madness was caused by an imbalance of four basic bodily fluids, or ‘humors.’ He attempted to treat mental illnesses through means such as forced purging, special diets, and bloodletting. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Roman physician Galen both later expanded upon Hippocrates’ theories.
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
“Hallucinations and voices that caused schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have been stopped with the use of new medications”. (MHT, 2) “Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms,” (MFMI, 4). “Another advantage of these medications is an increased understanding of the causes of mental illness. Scientists investigate the results of the medications, and through these results, they have learned a great deal about the working of the brain system.” (MFMI, 4) The use of new drugs has made it possible for mentally ill persons to live a normal life.
For many centuries there has been multiple arguments about what causes mental illness. Hebrews believed that mental illness was a punishment from god for those who sinned. The way they cured one another was spiritually and through health. They believed that if you had a healthy diet that it would prevent you from any diseases. The physicians were also priests who had “special ways” to heal with higher powers. The biggest theory was that whoever had a mental illness was caused from supernatural forces. There had been many different treatments to help cure ones suffering. Dating back to 5000 BCE was the first treatment preformed on record, showing that one would chip a hole into the human skull to release evil spirits. Later on, the Ancient Egyptians
They are popularly referred to as being part of a continuum, the ability to successfully perform in productive activities and relationships, as opposed to the inability to do such things (Mental Illness Overview). Ever since the first edition of the DSM was published in 1952, scientists have studied how a person’s mind relates to their brain and whether the disorders they listed were organic or purely in the mind (Arben). Science has made extraordinary leaps in this aspect, as they have come to discover not only the biological change that causes mental illnesses, but they are also able to pin down even specific chromosomes linked to them. One in particular that has been heavily studied is depression, which is known to be related to a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Some of the more recently developed medications, known as SSRIs, block the receptors that recycle serotonin from taking in too much and allowing enough to carry proper signals throughout the brain (Johnson). While some people insist on the opinion that drugs such as these are overprescribed (Medications for Mental Illness Are Overprescribed), professionals use tested algorithms when determining whether a patient is in need of medication, and if so what medication to use (Restricting Medications for Mental Illness Harms Patients). These methods have been fine-tuned over the past few decades and are used treat a patient to their own personal needs, and to aid
The medical model dismissed psychological explanations of mental illness, suggesting that such explanations were no better than demonology. In the mid-19th century, the prevailing belief was that all illness was caused by disordered physiology or brain chemistry. The search for psychological causes for mental illness, such as conflict, frustration, and emotional disturbance, was held back by the dominance of the medical model. This belief persists—explanations for alcoholism range from inheritance and other biological factors to life circumstances and a need to escape, exemplifying the contrast between the medical and psychological models (p. 502-03).
Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by constant depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. It is the most common mental illness amongst adults but, it can affect people of every age. There are more than three million case per year for depression. Hippocrates was a Greek physician and is considered one of the most considered figures in the history of medicine. He discovered depression and found that it was caused by an imbalance in four body fluids called yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood. Depression greatly impacts people lives by causing problems at work, affecting relationships, and having suicidal thoughts.
While reading this chapter on treatment, I had no idea on the number of prescription drugs are out there in treating people with mental disorders to rebalance a person’s brain chemistry. What is interesting to know is how there is an interconnection between a person’s mental and emotional health and how prescription drugs are linked to the ways the human brain functions. People with mental health problems need to rebalance their brain chemistry by taking prescription drugs. These drugs help to do this and have proven to help control their mental problems such as: Irritated mood, depression, self-esteem, etc. I can see why people with mental problems come in contact with these type of drugs. However, psychoactive drugs can also have a
Schizophrenia is a disorder that can be managed with the use of proper medications and therapy. Schizophrenia cannot be fully cured, but in numerous cases treatment may help. Many times the treatment plan is lifelong even if the symptoms disappear.
This essay describes the purpose, goal, method and several other factors related to psychodynamic psychotherapy. It describes that it is a therapy used to deal with the emotional matters of the patients. An emphasis is made on the therapeutic alliance in psychodynamic psychotherapy. In addition to this, certain other concepts such as transference and counter transference, interpretation, boundary issues and defense mechanism is also defined. Beside this, the significance of therapeutic alliance in all these factors is also discussed. The concept of therapeutic alliance is given and examples are provided to clarify the points. It is discussed that therapeutic alliance is a strong bond of relation between the patient and the doctor. In the end conclusion is provided. Introduction
Before depression was medicalized, there was a much lower diagnosis rate. Those who actually were diagnosed were sent away to insane asylums where they were often tortured rather than treated. The medicalization of depression began with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The purpose of the guidebook is to provide the criteria that must be met in order to be diagnosed with a mental disorder. In order to be diagnosed with clinical depression, a person must have at least five of the symptoms nearly everyday for over two weeks. A few of the symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, fatigue or loss of energy, insomnia or excessive sleep, and suicidal
Given the restrictions imposed by health insurance requirements, short-term therapies are now the treatments of choice for many therapists and patients. Short-term therapies may be best described as “time-limited psychotherapy.” However, research has found increasing evidence of the effectiveness of such time-limited approaches as interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and solution-focused therapy (SFT).
Treatment for mental health disorders have evolved over the last few decades. Researchers have developed new method and strategies that differ from those of the previous centuries. In the precatalytic days of psychiatric development, most individuals diagnosed with a mental illness were deemed untreatable (cite). Or forced to undergo unethical and gruesome techniques which cause very little relief of psychiatric symptoms. Although treatment has come a long way, professionals continue to discover new strategies to manage psychiatric symptoms daily.
Early-on specifically during the Middle Ages, mental illness was believed by many as demonic possession and religious’ punishment. Some trailblazers sought to cure mentally ill individuals by conducting non- religious techniques, and instead incorporating a change in environment, or even administering certain substances/medications that where heavily used during that time; that were thought of as medical treatment. The