Summary Of Nellie Bly's Hospital

It is a well-known fact that mental institutes are assumed to be these awful and decrepit places where only the most desperate would dare to go. In some cases, these assumptions are not wrong. Over the years mental institutes or hospitals have changed drastically. In the past, mental institutes were awful places where patients were often left to roam freely without the supervision of workers since most of the time they were understaffed. During ancient times, if someone had a mental illness often it was left to the family to see what would be done. More often than not, the family would call in a local priest and have him conduct an exorcism because it was believed that people with mental illnesses had evil spirits in them. As the years progressed
In some cases, people were left in their ‘cells' rather than being left out in the open. They were subjected to harsh treatment, mainly in restraints, especially if the patient was violent. In the past, patients were often left by themselves with nothing to do but stand in a corner, staring bleary-eyed at the floor. In her book, Nellie Bly, a reporter in 1887 snuck into Blackwell’s Island, an asylum for women and feigned being mentally ill to bring about more awareness for these asylums that are said to be houses of horrors. She did find many things during her stay but in the third chapter, when she arrives, reveals how the patients were. “The majority of the women sat there doing nothing, but there were a few who made lace and knitted unceasingly” (Bly 8). This shows that although mental institutes seemed like a good idea, there are many issues involving them and their treatment of patients. Not only that but often times women were institutionalized because of thing like being on their period or going against the wishes of their
Often they either ignored each other or they tried to converse with one another the best way they can. In a study done by David L. Rosenhan, a Stanford University professor, called the Rosenhan Study: On Being Sane in Insane Places, studies the actions of how one was to be determined insane. 12 people who were sane were put into mental institutes, diagnosed with schizophrenia, and were there for 7-52 days. It was brought up in the study how one patient recognized that one of the pseudopatients was sane and that they were some kind of journalist while the rest of the staff didn’t see them as sane. Rosenhan mentions this and adds “The fact that the patients often recognized normality when staff did not raise important questions.” (Rosenhan). Some of these questions include whether it’s right to call these people insane and whether the staff at mental institutes are qualified to take on people who are so vulnerable. It also manages to bring up whether or not the patients are out of touch with reality as is tended to believe. The patients and their treatment towards each other will always depend on the person and where they are staying it