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The Labyrinth of the Mind: Why Ancient People Believed Mental Illness Was the Work of the Devil
The history of mental illness dates back thousands of years, when explanations were largely influenced by religious beliefs and superstitions. Ancient peoples’ understanding of mental illness was often linked to possession by evil spirits, demonic activity, and torment from the devil. In those unknown times, psychological conditions were believed to be the direct result of supernatural influences, a view that remained widespread into the 16th and 17th centuries.
"Mental health is a state of affairs that has not been studied in depth, and only mysterious explanations are used to package everything."
Hippocrates and the Natural Explanation of Mental Illness
However, the Greek physician Hippocrates was the first to challenge this myth. He proposed that mental illness did not come from possession by evil spirits, but had natural causes. He believed that symptoms of mental illness stemmed from disease in the brain and suspected that these disturbed mental states were caused by an imbalance of fluids within the body. He divided these fluids into four categories: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm, a theory that became the basis for later theories of chemical imbalance.
Mind and body balance
Another philosopher at the time, Plato, argued that the mind, body, and soul interact with each other, and once this balance is disrupted, it will cause pain and disorder to the individual. This idea remained dominant for several centuries until it was challenged in the seventeenth century.
The rise of mental hospitals"Harmony of mind, body and soul is the foundation of individual health."
As history progressed, the opening of mental hospitals marked an important shift in humanity's understanding of mental illness. During the 16th and 17th centuries, mental hospitals were gradually established as places where patients with troubled conditions could receive treatment. The establishment of these facilities allowed detention and restraint techniques to be tested on patients, paving the way for the development of future psychiatric hospitals.
The emergence of psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis in modern history was initiated by Freud, who proposed a method of treating mental illness through dialogue between patients and psychoanalysts. His views focus on individual experiences and explore people's efforts to explore the world and life.
Interdisciplinarity in psychiatry
Psychiatry as a field of study integrates multiple disciplines including clinical psychology, abnormal psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and neuropsychology. This field offers a diverse perspective on mental health and seeks to explore mental illness from a variety of academic contexts.
"Mental illness is not just an individual problem, but also a social, cultural and biological consequence."
Classification of Mental Disorders
Mental disorders are defined not by a single symptom but by a group of characteristics. At the time of diagnosis, these symptoms should be more than just a natural response to some general stress or loss. Common mental health disorders include depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Complete analysis of the four Ds
The "four Ds" that define abnormal behavior include deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger. These criteria help clinicians make assessments when diagnosing mental illness.
"Deviant behavior does not always mean mental illness, and cultural context should also be considered."
The future and challenges of psychology
The current challenge is for the scientific community to find the specific causes, consequences and effective treatments for mental illness. New research models, such as the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, are attempting to establish a more effective approach to the study of mental illness, moving beyond traditional classification systems.
The history of mental illness tells us that our understanding of the mind has evolved over time, from superstition about evil spirits to a focus on biology and psychology. Are we only witnessing the beginning of research into mental illness, while its true nature remains an unsolved mystery?
