Psychiatric Treatments in Contemporary times
Research made by one of My dear subs, little boy <3
In modern medicine, the medical revolution emerged in the 18th century, where scientific discoveries and inventions took place. Mental health was not seen in a holistic view, more so if you’d conform to society’s moral code of conduct and conventional strict mold. Psychiatrists employed a number of techniques to treat their patients - which were more of experiments. What can and cannot be done is essentially regulated by the medical oath ‘to do no harm’ (as long as their harm is justified, no one shall tell…) One could argue this belief was unconsciously desired in the Victorian era, but the complexity of culture, lack of competent staff, hunger of power on the religious hierarchy, and moral imperatives prevented it.
In the early 1800’s there was no therapist for the mentally ill. The ‘boss’ of the asylum was simply a jailer. The patients were treated like dangerous animals to be confined to padded cells, restrained by straitjackets, chains, or other creative restraints, isolated and forgotten in remote locations. There was no consideration for the well-being of the mentally ill, or trying to actually treat them.
This began to slowly change in part due to a man and his grandson. Together they ushered in the Morale Treatment principle: Let us help and cure their madness for they too are people! One of the most prolific changes in Morale treatment was the minimizing of restraints. In place of being physically bound, it was agreed upon the mentally ill would be also mentally bound. Though it was not said so plainly with words, it was essentially implemented by the removal of autonomy.
This began with the technique of institutional routine; men and women were segregated with specific daily routines planned down to the hour. As Goffmann describes: “What followed was a slow mortification of the self and loss of identity.” An individual was nothing without the schedule / work, which was further exacerbated by social pressures in the asylum, staff coercion, and sleep drug treatments.
Other psychiatric treatment worth noting is the cruel water therapy. Some examples
1) In a hammock held a bath with water up to their chin in water. Canvas metal would hold them in place with a hole for their head. This could be for hours.
2) Tied to a chair and submerged in a pond until they were nearly unconscious. This was repeated multiple times.
3) Restrained to a chair with ice water thrown on them. Water therapy was meant to ‘calm down’ or diminish a patient's current mental state.
And have we seen the scene in Ratched series with the boiling bath ? Of course anyone would comply and conform to avoid these tortures!
The darkest of the psychiatric treatments was towards women. One of the things was that doctors would masturbate them / perform a hysterectomy as part of treatment (surgery to remove the uterus) to treat hysteria. Women were also subjected to sleep inducing drugs and disproportionately sentenced to lives in Asylums. To name a few!
Although it comes with a lot of sinister history, somehow I’ve always been attracted to movies like ‘Girl,Interrupted ; One flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ and series like Ratched. Something with the representation of the institution inspires My domination: the knowledge and being intellectually and academically respected ; the power the health and medical institution represents ; and the overall aesthetic has always fascinated Me. All in the good spirit of consensual play, of course !
References:
A Victorian Mental Asylum Understanding psychiatric institutionalizing a concept review
Victorian Era Lunatic Asylum
If you want more on Asylum history let me know, or YOU HAVE cool wisdom nuggets about the topic, please share! There is a MedFet blog on My Fetlife account.