Our understanding of our bodies and minds improves with every passing year. There are still many unanswered questions, and too many seemingly insurmountable medical challenges for comfort, but at least science is pointed towards answers. In decades and centuries past, illness both physical and mental was often treated in ineffective, inhumane and often destructive ways in old insane asylums. People with psychological conditions, especially, tended to be viewed as subhuman. These unfortunate souls were born in the wrong era, and their stories are heartbreaking.
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#1 RESTRAINTS CAUSED TRAUMA TO THE PATIENTS
Restraints are normally used on psychotic patients to keep them from harming self or others. The restraints used in those days were so cruel and harsh that they would add to agony and trauma of the patients. Patients were tied up with chains, fortunately in today's date doctors give patients medicines to keep them calm.
#2 ILLOGICAL REASONS TO DECLARE WHETHER SOMEONE MENTALLY CHALLENGED OR NOT !
From the list in the image, for almost everything a person could be called a mentally challenged person. This was really absurd as many times even a person down with fever was called psychic patient, unlike today wherein only specific symptoms a person is diagnosed as a psychic patient.
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#3 ODD DEVICES FOR STRESS RELIEVING .
One of the most horrifying devices invented in those days was a slapping machine which was said to calm the patient and relieve the stress. This must have caused a terror and even more damage the brain f those psychic patients, this was an awful way to deal with them.
#4 SOMETHING DONE IN A SELF-INDULGENT WAY WAS NOT NORMAL
If mentally challenged patient could not control themselves and did self indulgence it was considered insane. They were watched all through day and night and were not allowed to touch their own self. They were made to wear heavy metal inner wears with spikes, that would have so painful.
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#5 FEMALE PATIENTS WERE GIVEN DIFFERENT KIND OF MASSAGE
When women were said to be in want of self indulgence or were getting nervous and irritable, it was termed as female hysteria. They were given different kind of massage to relax them by the doctors. Once again this was something that was done without the patients wish and literally a forced treatment.
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#6 STEAM CABINETS WAS NOT A GOOD OPTION FOR MENTALLY CHALLENGED PATIENTS
While steam cabinets are used to relieve the stress and for weight loss in modern day's world, people with mental illness were put in these steam boxes for similar reasons. However to place mentally challenged people, who are unaware, in such closed cabinets did not make a sense as this was like punishing them and limiting them to such boxes.
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#7 WOMEN WITHOUT LOGICS WERE DECLARED MENTALLY CHALLENGED
Many women were declared mentally challenged, if they were into too much of reading or studying. This was an absurd reason and thankfully this type of approach does not exist in today's world.
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#8 NUMBER OF MENTALLY CHALLENGED PATIENTS WERE OVERLOADED IN ASYLUMS.
Many asylums were said to be overcrowded and due to this the patients were not given enough attention and no proper treatment was given to them. Infact they were chained together in one room and this would lead to violence and unnecessary cruel punishments. Sometimes due to lack of space some patients were released without being given proper medical attention.
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#9 KIDS WHO WERE NOT GOOD IN LEARNING WERE SENT TO ASYLUMS
A lot of times kids with learning disorders or mental challenges were sent to asylums. This was basically because parents did not care for their kids. However these days there are many schools for such kids and these institutions deal with kids very well.
