When we look at schizophrenia in this day and age we look at it as an unfortunate disease that a select few have unfortunately been inflicted with and that we, as the understanding and civilized people we are, must understand that they have a problem that must be accepted and treated. Now compared to the 17th century thinking this was to say the very least near nonexistent, the very thought that one must make consolidations toward what was viewed as a menace to society was foolhardy thought. This sort of disparity between now and then in the treatment of those with schizophrenia can be noted at the very least for how staggering it is in scope, to come so far in our treatment is a sort of testament in the growth of understanding people have obtained.
When one looks at the evolution of treatment one must keep note that the introduction of many of the facilities to help treat many mental diseases such as schizophrenia were actually rooted in an attempt to try to isolate and exclude them from society. Insane asylums and hospitals for example in the 17th century were used for the most part as containers for people with schizophrenia. This inevitably lead to a feeling of fear and misunderstanding as people came to only understand that people with mental diseases such as schizophrenia were to be isolated from the population. When we compare this sort of tact to today where there is an almost limitless amount of resources and information spread about every known mental disease and an active push by many organizations for people to understand these diseases it's astounding to see.
Whether we actively think about it or not we as a society have come to evolve to accept and work around those that have issues outside of their control. Whether this be in changing the form of how we act or changing the environment to accommodate them, in today's day it is simply a fact that people try their best to make everyone fit into society. To try to compare this line of thought to 17th century thinking is a task of monumental proportions due to how much of our behavior has evolved. When one thinks about treatment of schizophrenia in the 21st century for example, almost none think about an intrusive surgery that would result in the destruction of the frontal cortex of the brain along with destroying the very part of patients' brains responsible for judgment, emotional control, and personality but rather one would think to try medical treatment and psychotherapy. Though that is the issue, that sort of procedure back in the day was seen as the primary and perhaps best way to deal with schizophrenia and other mental diseases. Something today we would see as disgusting to even consider were the main source of treatments and all in all it's very jarring.
To put it lightly and to conclude, our view and treatment of schizophrenia has dramatically changed from the 17th century and it's an interesting but perhaps a little morbid to see how much we have evolved.
I think this is an interesting topic, Alejandro, but to argue that we changed from the 17th century is one thing--to argue that it is "much better" in the 21st century (one hundred years!) is a difficult claim to make.
ReplyDeleteI particularly have a problem with this statement:
"it is simply a fact that people try their best to make everyone fit into society. To try to compare this line of thought to 17th century thinking is a task of monumental proportions due to how much of our behavior has evolved. When one thinks about treatment of schizophrenia in the 21st century for example, almost none think about an intrusive surgery that would result in the destruction of the frontal cortex of the brain along with destroying the very part of patients' brains responsible for judgment, emotional control, and personality but rather one would think to try medical treatment and psychotherapy."
"It is simply a fact that people try their best to make everyone fit into society" --who are these "people" that you speak of? Doctors? the government? the public? We want to get more specific as to who is responsible for the treatment of these people.
Furthermore, it is actually NOT a fact that in the entire 21st century we have treated people with schizophrenia very well--Electro-Shock Therapy was not uncommon in the early to mid 20th century as Ken Kesey's brilliant novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" describes.
We need to narrow down our focus for this topic. To take on a historical shift of these monumental proportions involves a lifetime of work--not a 10 page paper.
The best way to approach this is to think a smaller period of time and also to determine what "people" we are talking about. It is one thin to talk about the PUBLIC'S perception of schizophrenia vs. the doctor's/medical institution's perception/treatment.
Another avenue into this same topic is to investigate how schizophrenia is now frequently treated with drugs rather than isolating them from society--could you argue (i don't know--it would involve research) that the medicalized culture of mental illness has merely allowed us (as a public) to ostracize (that is, exclude) the mentally ill in an entirely different way (rather than physical incarceration).
This is the complexity of thought we are looking for. Create a dialogue with yourself--challenge assumptions that seem "simply a fact."