Schizophrenia has been in our society for many years
and as time has passed our knowledge h has evolved to the best of the person’s
interest throughout the years. In the
past, people, who had this mental illness, would be outcast by society due to their
beliefs. They would say the person with
Schizophrenia was possessed by an evil spirit.
Since our knowledge has changed our views of what is Schizophrenia so
has the treatments for it.
Many years ago, Schizophrenia would be treated in a
completely different manner than how it is treated nowadays. People who were diagnosed with schizophrenia
would be subjected to trial and error treatments which some would have lifetime
side effects. They would be
institutionalized for the rest of their lives because doctors believed there
was no cure or control of the illness. There were different methods how
schizophrenics would be treated in the past.
The most common methods were insulin shock, electroconvulsive therapy,
and lobotomy. These treatments were very
unpleasant and dangerous. Even though
these were dangerous treatments, families of schizophrenic patients would still
request them believing it could help their beloved ones.
Insulin Shock Therapy
In our
present days, everything has changed for the best. Doctors have more knowledge on how
schizophrenia is caused and how they can help the patients other than hurting
them. There is still no cure for
schizophrenia but there are treatments that patients go through in a more humanely
manner. Now there are psychotherapies
and medication treatments the patients can take for their illness. They do not cure the illness but helps the
people diagnosed with schizophrenia to have a better life and not be a danger
for themselves. Our society has outgrown the way they would see and treat
people with schizophrenia.
I feel for the patients who suffered with schizophrenia back in the day because just like you mentioned, they would just be institutionalized and were left there to be forgotten. It's a shame that these patients were accused of being possessed with evil spirits or demons and were seen as outcasts.
ReplyDeleteBut then again there are the patients who were treated by trial and error and some of the treatments were very cruel and inhumane, so i'm not sure what was worse getting institutionalized or getting treated by trial and error, either way schizophrenia is a very sad mental illness.
They had no chance of recovery or living a healthy life back when they were just sent to mental hospitals. I believe they had no idea how to deal with this disorder other than to experiment on the patients. At least now there are medications and much more knowledge on schizophrenia. Its still overwhelming to deal with the symptoms but if the patient has family and friend support that can be so helpful.
ReplyDeleteImagine the life they have with schizophrenia back in the day? My professor was telling us his aunt was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and was sent to a mental institution! Her schizophrenia got worse, and eventually would rather stay there because that's all she knew. Even with medication. My heart goes out to them though. With time we become knowledgeable and know now it isn't some demonic possession but something wrong with them mentally.
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