From lunatics to psychiatric patients; from chaining and incinerating to care

Nowadays, persons who suffer from a mental disease receive treatment and care, in many cases in buildings that are specially developed for taking care of these people. Unfortunately, this hasn't always been the case and people weren't always treated as if they have a disease they cannot do anything about. Although care still isn't always practiced with respect to the patient (which is of course ridiculous), things have been far worse.

Early societies

In the earlies societies people with deviant behaviour weren't seen as people who suffered from a disease; they were possessed by a demon. To 'cure' them from this demon, skull trepenations were done, so that the bad spirit would leave the head of the 'lunatic' (such as people with outstanding behaviour were called in the past). A different method that was used in these early cultures was covering the lunatic in excreta. In addition to these and other forms of torture, lunatics were often exiled from the village.

In Sparta society didn't even bother to let people with different behaviour live. Disabled babies were killed right after they were born. Society was focussed on producing good soldiers and disabled people were considered useless.

 The early Christian period

Also during this period people were not seen as suffering from a disease, but as being possessed by a demon, in this case by Satan. Still, people were exiled from the village. However, punishments or 'cures' - whatever they might call it - could even be worse. If a person showed abnormal behaviour, it wasn't a good Christian and consequently, he or she was burned as a witch on stakes. Often, lunatics were also used during fairs as an attraction by just standing and being 'weird'. People who thought differently, in stead of acted differently, received another treatment. They were placed in a home for lunatics and were chained to the wall. In addition to this, they hardly received any food and nursing. Thus, diseases often developed in these enormously dirty and smelly homes.

 

The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages the predominant thought was that mental diseased were useless. When a physically disabled person was shown to Luther, he called him a 'massa carnis' (a lump of flesh). In this same period, the Dutch writer Hugo de Groot said that 'deformed children' were not human and should be killed when they were born.

During this period, people believed the disease (note that it was concerned a disease during this period) would disappear by frightening the lunatic. This was, however, not often done but simply saying 'boo'! Patients were often scourged. Furthermore, to prevent the diseased from expressing blasphemies, they were choked by menas of a pillow on a regular basis.

Hospitals during the 17th century

The first hospitals that were founded in the 17th centuries were not created out of charity. They served to maked the 'useless' more useful by contributing to the economy. They had to perform hard labour and followed a strict routine. The income their hard work yielded just functioned to enlarge the income of the institution. Patients were not allowed to choose if they want to live in these hospitals. Every person who didn't measure up to the norms of society (this also counted for people who were very poor) was obliged to take part of the institution.

Untill the 19th century these institutions were made public for entertainment. People would visit the hospitals to make fun of the people who lived in there.

Modern time:

Untill very recently horrible things have happened to people who think or act differently than the mainstream. And still, care for these people is not always perfect. The picture below shows you how terrible things were still done to mentally ill patients in 1938. In this children's chair, 'difficult' patients would sit the whole day wearing a straitjacket and a spit - or bite mask to prevent the patient to bite or spit during a moment of rage.




A children's chair from the lunatic room in a Dutch hospital room in 1938


 

Also from the following scene of the movie 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' it can be concluded that psychiatric care wasn't that respectful only a few decades ago. Protagonist McMurphey, played by actor Jack Nicholson, is punished by means of electroshock therapy. Later in this movie, McMurphey is punished again for showing undesirable behaviour. This time, the punishment is even worse and life-changing. During a Lobotomy (an operation that was done during the mid-20th century) the frontal part of the brain became disconnected from the rest of the brain and the nervous system, turning McMurphey into a vegatable.

Are you shocked by the methods that have been applied to 'cure' people who suffer from a mental disease? Have you experienced kinds of maltreatment yourself? Please share your opinion and experiences with us.

"What's in your head: Zombie"

Have you always been afraid to watch Zombie movies? Unfortunately, you cannot flee from them
by just not watching these kinds of movies. Zombies do exist. At least... to some people. People who think Zombies are real suffer from a rare mental disorder called Cotard's Syndrome, or also known as the Walking Corpse Syndrome.

What is Cotard's Syndrome?

This disease is characterised by the belief to be dead. Cotard's syndrome ranges from believing you are dead or nonexisting (believing you have never existed at all) to believing you are in a state of decomposing. In the latter case, patients are convinced their rotting flesh is hanging loose on their body. This delusion can be dangerous, as people don't take care of their hygiëne and well-being anymore. Patients stop drinking and eating, as dead people don't need these kinds of nutritions. Even worse, this disease can lead to feelings of immortality. To prove that they are immortal, patients sometimes try to commit suicide. After all, a dead person cannot die twice.

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Three stages of Cotard's

The disease develops in three stages, becoming worser and worser. The first stage, called germination, is characterised by psychotic depression and hypochondria (a great fear to suffer from severe diseases). The latter symptom shows itself in a constant cleaning of the body. In addition to this, patients often withdraw themselves from social contact. During the second phase, called blooming, symptoms become worse and the syndrome develops completely; people negate they exist. Patients loose their appetite and mostly stop moving. What mostly distinguishes this stage from the first stage is that patients start neglecting their hygiene. Finally, this stage is characterised by dementia, which leads to the delusion of rotting flesh. At the last stage of the disease, called chronic, severe delusions and chronic depression occur. Furthermore, patients develop a completely distorted view of the world. In addition to this, patients stop eating and don't react to (almost) any stimulus.

Two cases in the spotlight

• In 1788 an elderly woman became paralyzed on one side of her body. When she started moving, feeling and speaking again she told her children to dress her in a shroud and place her in a coffin. They didn't immediately comply with their mother's request as they thought it was absurd; their mother was clearly alive. After many days of demanding to treat her like she was dead, her daughters finally complied. To calm the lady down, they placed her in a coffin while dressed in a shroud, so that they, as their mother told them, could mourn her death. Even when the 'wake' arrived, the woman was still fiddling on her shroud and complaining about its white colour.
• During the late 19th century a woman started complaining she had no brain, no intestines, no nerves, no stomach and no chest. The only thing that was left of her was a decomposing body, containing no soul. In addition to this, the lady thought she was immortal and would 'live' for ever. As she thought she was immortal and didn't have entrails, she also thought it wasn't necessary for her to eat. Soon, the lady proved to not be immortal: she died of starvation.

It's obviously unusual to say you're dead when you are actually telling someone you are. Also, it is unusual to believe you are dead when you are actually thinking. What do you think of this disease and of people suffering from it? We are interested in your opinion, so feel free to leave a comment.

The Smurfs are not completely a fairytale: the disease Argyria

Of course you remember the cartoon from your younger years, called the Smurfs. How often did you wish during your childhood that a cartoon figure would come to life for you to play with it? Probably, your parents told you this wasn't possible, as the figures were drawn by an artist and not real. However, we can tell you that a childs' dream has come true with regard to the series the Smurfs. There in fact are people that are blue! Only a lot bigger...

The person in the upper picture suffers from a disease called Argyria, which is also known as the Smurfs disease or Alien disease. This blue colour can be found on (almost) the entire visible surface body of the patient or just on small regions of the body that are hidden from the eye, such as parts of the skin or the inside of the eyelids. Unfortunately, this blue colour is irreversible.

What can turn you into a big Smurf?

But what causes this strange-looking disease?
Patients suffering from Argyria have been exposed to inappropriate chemical mixtures of silver. During the 19th and 20th century silver solutions were often used in medicine to cure different kinds of diseases. It was at that time that they discovered these cures had some side effects. People turned blue or grey blue! In the 1940's these 'medicine' were taken off the market, as concerns about Argyria raised and better medicines were developed.

Despite the efforts to remove silver from the medicine market, some people have still developed a blue skin in this century. In the following video you can see how Paul Karason has used colloidal silver (water that contains particles of silver) to cure some skin conditions. Although he has turned out blue, he has not stopped using this alternative medicine. He favors having no skin condition over a blue skin.

However, Argyria can also develop when you are not aware of the fact that your body is receiving too big amounts of silver. Some people have seen (parts of) their bodies turn blue just by having dinner. How can this happen you wonder? Well, in these cases many particles of silverware (from plates or forks) have entered the body. Other cases are known in which people inhaled silver for a long period via the air. This has happened to some factory workers who worked in a factory in which silver was processed.

Finally, the cause of having a blue skin can also be found in someone's genes. Having an 'Argyria gene' leads to a blood disorder which causes the skin to have this unique colour. This blood disorder, or having received too much silver makes the blood lack oxygen. This doesn't make the blood turn blue, but dark red.

Can I easily develop a blue skin colour?

The answer to this question is no. This condition is a very rare one and only a few people carry the gene that makes you turn blue. That you in fact need two parents to carry this gene to ultimately have the chance to become blue, makes it even more difficult to develop Argyria. So, no worries!

A stupid coincidence

An unique situation though has happened in 1820. In that year, a blue man married a white woman and had 7 children. When these children were born, it was immediately clear that the woman also carried the Argyria gene. 4 of the children were blue-skinned!

The only thing that distinguishes people suffering from Argyria from us is their blue appearance. The disease does not lead to other symptoms apart from having an unique skin colour. In the movie, you could see Paul was just a very normal guy. Still, his life hasn't been easy because of people staring at him as if he is a monster and because of people being unfriendly. This ofcourse is not fair. In the movie, it is said that Paul would like people to understand his disease more and that it's not about his appearance, but that it is his character that counts. Just like Paul, people with Argyria also deserve a normal life and should be accepted by the people around them.

What do you think of this disease? Can you understand why Paul Karason would still drink colloidal silver if this makes him turn blue? Can you emphatise with him and other people suffering from Argyria? Feel free to leave a comment!

Apotemnophilia: a strong craving to cut off one's own healthy part(s) of the body

Apotemnophilia is probably one of those diseases you've never heard of. This is because it is a very rare and unusual mental disease. The disease is characterised by a strong desire to amputate own healthy parts of the body. Did I hear that right? Who would want to do wrip off one's own legs or arms, or even worse... for the guys amongst us?! Not many obviously, but there are some few people (a few thousand people to be more precisely) who will try to do everything to succeed in this.

 The causes of Apothemnophilia

Another question that has probably raised in your head is: why would people want to loose healthy limbs or other parts of the body? Many patients who suffer from this disease answer this question by saying that they feel the specific body part does not belong to them. Furthermore, the cause of this disease is often stated to be found in a strong craving to attract attention to oneself or sexual perversion; the amputation fetich is often seen as a form to search for sexual satisfaction. In addition to this, the disease is also often explained by an identification during early childhood with a person who is missing a limb.

Research has also shown that the brain can probably play a big role in causing this disease. When studying four male patients lying under a brain scan, the parietal lobe (an area in the upper-right part of the brain) showed no activity when they were touched on their unwanted feet. The parietal lobe plays an important role in integrating the image one has of him/herself in the brain. Clearly, for patients suffering from Apotemnophilia their leg, including their feet, are just not part of who they are.

Severe consequences

Often, however in vain, patients try to ask a surgeon to amputate the unwanted body part(s), so that the amputation can be done in a (relatively) painless and secure manner. Sergeons refuse these kinds of requests to remove a healthy body part, following the principle to cause no damage. Unfortunately, patients do not always accept that the body part has to be left in place and start trying to remove the part themselves. This mostly happens in manners that are very dangerous and damaging. There has been a case in which a patient put his leg in a barrel with dry ice for as long as necessary, so that sergeons had no other choice than to amputate the leg. Other extreme methodes that have been used are building a guillotine and placing the limb in this construction, using a chain saw to cut off the limb or placing the limb on the rails to wait for a train to remove it.


Apothemnophilia is a very unusual disease for which it is difficult to emphatise with or fully understand patients suffering from it. However, these patients are still people, who breath, laugh, cry, feel, and walk (ok, not always), just like us. Unfortunately something went wrong in a little area in their brain which causes them to lead a dangerous life on the edge. They cannot help it and don't want to be seen as something that is non-human. Although they see one part of them as not being part of being the person they are, the rest of them is still a person. We ask society to step out of their own perspectives and treat people with various (unusual) diseases as they are worth to be treated: as people.

In the following short documentary of BBC (which contains no unpleasant images) you can see that people suffering from Apothemnophilia are just normal people like us. In this movie, a woman suffering from this disease explains she lives a very ordinary life; she has good job and a stable homelife.

Are you shocked by the documentary and by the symptoms of this mental disease? Do you think the woman in the movie can indeed live a normal life, as she says she does, although she suffers from Apothemnophilia? Are you able to empathise with patients suffering from this disease and can you understand their desires? We are interested in your opinion, so don't hesitate to leave a comment.