Mental Health In The 18th Century
Introduction
This report will explain how legislation and social policy has changed in response to the needs of individuals with mental illness. It will analyse the impact of recent changes in social policy and how it has changed society’s response to mental health. Mental health has never fully been accepted in society. This report will outline how attitudes towards mental health have changed throughout history and explain why.
History of mental health and society
In the past, many people saw mental health as a made up illness or a possessed spirit. It wasn’t taken very seriously; mental hospitals were then called asylums or madhouses and they were used to separate those who were mentally ill from society. In the 17th Century, people who …show more content…
This was not very well documented as it most likely didn’t meet the human rights of patients. (Ebert, T. 1999). It wasn’t until the end of the 18th Century that society began to become more liberal about mental illness. Up until then, people with mental illnesses were outcasts in communities because people were scared of them, thinking they were possessed by demons. Up until the end of the 18th Century, the mentally ill were dealt with under ‘The Vagrancy Act’ which allowed mentally ill people who were said to be ‘mad’, to be detained in asylums. (Marshall, D. 2002). In 1774, The Madhouses Act was created by Parliament; it was the first legal framework for regulating madhouses in England. Previously to this act, madhouses had very little or no medical supervision what so ever. The Act put an end to people making profit from overcrowding of private madhouses, and it also required madhouses to hold annual licenses and have regular inspections by the Royal College of Physicians. This meant that madhouses would be fined if regulations were not followed. This Act was made permanent in 1786 and was revoked by the Madhouses Act 1828. (Segen’s Medical Dictionary. 2012). The introduction of the Vagrancy Act and the Madhouses Act show that society’s views have changed slightly as some …show more content…
This meant that local asylums, funded by the local authorities, were compulsory for anyone with a mental health illness. This Act was revoked in 1890 and it gave asylums a wider role and more people were being admitted. (The Time Chamber. 2007). Because of these Acts, more people were opening up about mental illness and seeking professional help. This shows that people weren’t as worried about society’s views as more people were being admitted. In 1926, a report by the Royal Commission on Lunacy and Mental Health disorder stated that: “mental and physical illnesses should now be seen as overlapping not as distinct”. (McCulloch, A & Lawton-Smith, S. 2012). In other words, if someone is diagnosed with a physical illness, they usually receive treatment until they no longer need it; whereas if someone is suffering from a mental illness they are expected to ‘brush it off’ and ‘just deal with it’ and this should not be the case; it should be dealt with the same
This report will explain how legislation and social policy has changed in response to the needs of individuals with mental illness. It will analyse the impact of recent changes in social policy and how it has changed society’s response to mental health. Mental health has never fully been accepted in society. This report will outline how attitudes towards mental health have changed throughout history and explain why.
History of mental health and society
In the past, many people saw mental health as a made up illness or a possessed spirit. It wasn’t taken very seriously; mental hospitals were then called asylums or madhouses and they were used to separate those who were mentally ill from society. In the 17th Century, people who …show more content…
This was not very well documented as it most likely didn’t meet the human rights of patients. (Ebert, T. 1999). It wasn’t until the end of the 18th Century that society began to become more liberal about mental illness. Up until then, people with mental illnesses were outcasts in communities because people were scared of them, thinking they were possessed by demons. Up until the end of the 18th Century, the mentally ill were dealt with under ‘The Vagrancy Act’ which allowed mentally ill people who were said to be ‘mad’, to be detained in asylums. (Marshall, D. 2002). In 1774, The Madhouses Act was created by Parliament; it was the first legal framework for regulating madhouses in England. Previously to this act, madhouses had very little or no medical supervision what so ever. The Act put an end to people making profit from overcrowding of private madhouses, and it also required madhouses to hold annual licenses and have regular inspections by the Royal College of Physicians. This meant that madhouses would be fined if regulations were not followed. This Act was made permanent in 1786 and was revoked by the Madhouses Act 1828. (Segen’s Medical Dictionary. 2012). The introduction of the Vagrancy Act and the Madhouses Act show that society’s views have changed slightly as some …show more content…
This meant that local asylums, funded by the local authorities, were compulsory for anyone with a mental health illness. This Act was revoked in 1890 and it gave asylums a wider role and more people were being admitted. (The Time Chamber. 2007). Because of these Acts, more people were opening up about mental illness and seeking professional help. This shows that people weren’t as worried about society’s views as more people were being admitted. In 1926, a report by the Royal Commission on Lunacy and Mental Health disorder stated that: “mental and physical illnesses should now be seen as overlapping not as distinct”. (McCulloch, A & Lawton-Smith, S. 2012). In other words, if someone is diagnosed with a physical illness, they usually receive treatment until they no longer need it; whereas if someone is suffering from a mental illness they are expected to ‘brush it off’ and ‘just deal with it’ and this should not be the case; it should be dealt with the same