Challenges
The rise of the asylums happened in the 1800s, and at that time, it was a widespread type of institution for mentally ill people who had severe disorders and required special care from professionals. Eventually, when the patients were sent to the asylums, they usually stayed there for the rest of their lives and never left the establishment (Houston, 2020). The number of patients exceeded the possible limit, and some people were forced to sleep on the floor. The medical staff was not careful and respectful towards their patients and treated them poorly (Golding, 2021). Moreover, they constantly practiced cruel treatment methods such as electroshock therapy, which barely helped the patients recover and only suppressed their personality and will.
Benefits
Despite all the horrible facts and disturbing events happening in the mental hospitals of that time, they served the people’s well-being and helped patients recover. Some mental hospitals had a model and structure more similar to the regular one, and their patients could receive professional help and comfortable conditions while staying there. Bellevue asylum that was built in New York was one example that represented the institutions’ initial concept and was sticking to the medical ethics (BBC Worldwide Learning, 1991). Personnel used more gentle methods of treatment and diagnosis, and consequently patients were less exposed to the brutal and radical techniques practiced in other hospitals. Therefore living in a decent environment and having a professional and ethical attitude from the doctor and nurses contributed to improving the people’s condition.
Analyzing Wellness and Value
Although asylums at first started as mental state institutions with very questionable treatment methods and rough attitudes towards the patients, it was the beginning of the risen awareness of mental health. Eventually, this concept of psychological healthcare collapsed due to its inhumane and unethical practices, which were irrelevant with time because of the medical discoveries and progression in this field of knowledge. Thus, critically analyzing wellness, additional values can be identified to the issue. Firstly, psychological health is less stigmatized and becomes the subject of thorough study and development, bringing more possibilities for understanding the core of the diseases and providing people with decent medical help. In addition, erasing the boundaries between society and people with mental illness allows them to live and interact with others more freely.
Reference
BBC Worldwide Learning. Out of sight: the rise and fall of the asylum—madness. (1991). BBC Production.
Houston, R. A. (2020). Asylums: the historical perspective before, during, and after. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), 354-362.
Golding, R. (2021). Asylums, Moral Management and Music. In Music and Moral Management in the Nineteenth-Century English Lunatic Asylum (pp. 41-68). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.