The History of Mental Health: How Did We Get Here?
- Yukta Shah
- Mar 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Mental illnesses have existed since the beginning of human history. Even the earliest of humans attempted to define this mysterious ailment; one which seemingly could not be cured with the regular herbs and medicine.
The mind is a curious thing, it is what gives us the capabilities of learning and exploring, what provides us with sense and reason, and what we use to survive. It is a natural instinct to wonder what really goes on up there. In fact, there is cave art dated from 6500 BCE that has depicted the structure of our skulls and treatments for its possible ailments. Many were not sure that the central system that controls our thoughts and behaviors truly lies in our head. However, what even the earliest of humans did know is that something of importance had a place in our skulls, why else would we have a hard shell to protect it? Early cave art displays human skulls along with the practice of trephination. Trephination is the surgical procedure of drilling holes in the human skull. Early on, many believed this was the answer to mental illnesses, a cure for all head ailments. The oldest skulls showing trephination dated back to 6000 BCE. Trephination was believed to release any trapped evil spirits from the mind causing “imbalance,” or what we now refer to as a mental illness. There were thousands of other remedies people believed would cure this “insanity,” most of which were truly useless. These included, but were not limited to, traditional herbs, bleeding, vomiting, and purging.
Figure 1: Trepanning - Wikipedia
The treatments, however, were not the only thing these supposed experts were wrong about. Most humans believed that mental ailments was a punishment for any sins committed, a religious penance. Now, this is not meant in any way to disparage religion, but it is in religion that people found reason for mental disorders, as they did for many other matters. It is important to note, however, that there was not much scientific discovery of the mind until the 18th century. This explains why the public turned directly to religion as an answer for these maladies.
There are hundreds of important figures who changed the ideology mental illness faced. This blog will work to cover and discuss many of these figures. Let us start by exploring a man known as the “Father of Medicine,” Hippocrates. Wait until next week to get a more in depth history and analysis on this famous Grecian. For now, however, let us celebrate one of his brave leaps in the mental health industry. In the 5th century BCE, Hippocrates was one of the first to treat the mentally ill with true “medicine” and therapeutic acts. Before Hippocrates, most relied on religion and its powers of purification to cure a mentally ill patient. Hippocrates supported the brave belief that mental illnesses may be rooted within past experiences, rather than evil spirits. This unique hypothesis may have led him to become the enemy of superstition. Although some of even Hippocrates’ treatments are now outdated and considered out of a realm of possibility, we thank him every day for what he did to progress our research in mental health. What we must do today, is carry on understanding and spreading awareness for what mental health is, what it is not, and how it impacts hundreds of millions of humans in our world.
Figure 2: The Conversation: Hippocrates
There could be an addendum of countless paragraphs, each signifying a different historical figure, who changed our perception of mental health and brought an impact on the field. However, this blog does not aim to bore you by droning on for paragraphs at a time, which is why I will stop here. Please leave me a note if you would like me to research and write about a specific historical figure, mental illness, or if you would like to share your story and journey with mental health. Let’s get a conversation started!
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