Perceptions Of Mental Illness In The 19th Century

The different perceptions of mental illness during the 19th century and the present day are pronounced. Perceptions of mental illness have changes significantly over time; however, many old ideas continue to stigmatize the mentally ill. These differences and seminaries include, but are not limited to, medical treatment of mental illness, psychological theories, and societal beliefs. In the early eighteen-hundreds treatment for the mentally ill were nonexistent. Patients were believed to be possessed by demons or cursed by witches. The mentally ill were jailed or were just left untreated at home. Now mental illness is taken extremely serious. Some of the treatments now are medicine and counseling.