The shocking history of mental health treatments
Trephination: It was believed that opening up a hole in the skull would allow the evil spirit, or spirits, that inhabited the head to be released.
Mental health issues in ancient times: Ancient theories about mental illness were often the result of belief in the supernatural.
The four humors: Hippocrates, Galen, and Socrates, each developed the idea of there being four essential elements to the human body.
Caring for the mentally ill: Outside interventions and facilities for residential treatment were rare.
The history of mental health treatments: Historians and mental health professionals have evidence of the history of mental illness through documented cases.
Treatments through the Middle Ages: Doctors of the time would give patients laxatives, leeches, and cupping therapy to restore the body’s proportions of humors.
Mental health issues aren't recent: Mental illness might seem like a recent phenomenon, but it has been observed throughout history.
Ancient Egyptians were more progressive: The ancient Egyptian civilization was notably advanced for its time in the field of medicine and recommended that patients engage.
Rituals by priest-doctors: Priest-doctors, like those in ancient Mesopotamia, and shamans would use rituals based on religion and superstition since they believed that.
Hippocrates: It was a standard belief in ancient societies that mental illness had a supernatural origin.