{"id":1097,"date":"2023-11-09T09:41:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T09:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darianblogs.umwsites.net\/?p=22"},"modified":"2023-11-09T09:41:38","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T09:41:38","slug":"project-11-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.mcclurken.org\/HistoryOfMentalHealth\/uncategorized\/project-11-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 11\/9"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the twentieth century America had been overcome by the fight for civil rights. After many years of fighting, the 19th amendment was passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote. This was shortly followed by the passing of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. After that was the civil rights movement of the 1950s-1960s. Amongst all the fighting for civil liberties there was another group of individuals who fought for their rights and won. That being the patients in mental asylums. In some cases, patients had been placed in these asylums for little or no reason at all forcing them to take an involuntary \u201clife sentence\u201d at one of these asylums. During the second half of the twentieth century life for the \u201cmentally ill\u201d changed throughout America. After gaining their freedom they were thrown into a world that had all but forgotten about them. This paper will argue that while the second half of the twentieth century was \u201crevolutionary\u201d for Americans dealing with mental disabilities, these changes would only work to further ostracize those individuals from the rest of society.<\/p>\n

In 1950 there were over 500,000 patients in insane asylums across the United States. The extremely high number of patients in asylums was something that the joint commission had aimed to change, in the \u201cAction for mental health: Final report of the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health\u201d it is noted as saying \u201cThe objective of Modern treatment of persons with major mental illness is to enable the patient to maintain himself in the community in a normal manner.\u201d (Action for Mental Health).\u201d This was published in 1961 and would spark the \u201crevolution\u201d that took place. The idea of these patients getting back into the community was executed in a top-down manner. The first step federally was the Community Mental Health Act signed in 1963. <\/p>\n

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(John F Kennedy Signing CMH, 1963)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This act shifted federal funding from hospitals to community mental health programs and centers. The signing of this act meant that responsibility for the mentally ill was slowly being pushed back upon society. This was in stark contrast to the idea of care taking that had been developed amongst American mental asylums. While the 1963 act and others during the 1960s-1970s were seen as wins for civil rights, these individuals were put into an unforgiving society. Now one of the major issues facing society was the number of individuals that were released in such a short time span.\u00a0 In \u201c\u2018Community Care\u2019: Historical Perspective on Deinstitutionalization\u201d author Andrew Scull states that \u201cthe dramatic decrease took place between 1965 and 1980, when numbers fell from 475,202 to 132,164.\u201d (71, Community care). <\/p>\n

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(Americans in mental asylums, figure 1)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

On the surface it appears as though treatment had taken a substantial leap. However, that was not the case rather individuals were being thrown out of asylums and into the community. When these former patients were reintroduced, they were met with a society that treated them as outcasts and figuratively continued the mistreatment that they had faced in the asylums. With over 300,000 of the \u201cmentally ill\u201d being released into society it appeared to overwhelm America. During the time it is noted that \u201cTheir plight triggered popular fears of dangerous \u201cmaniacs\u201d running the streets and invading neighborhoods\u201d (folklore).\u00a0 This clearly shows that these individuals would not be immediately \u201cadapted\u201d into society the way that they were intended to. As a result of this many former patients found themselves with no one to turn to in a society which was content ignoring them. Leaving them to seek shelter in welfare hotels, halfway houses, and homeless shelters. For these patients they went from a place of stability, directly to the \u201clowest rank\u201d of American society.<\/p>\n

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(Definition + Examples of Norms)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Another thing that fueled negative feelings towards former patients\u2019 is that their actions \u201cwent against societal norms.\u201d  While there is a discussion to be had about what norms are, who sets them, and how one should conduct themselves to fit these norms. We should turn the focus on how going against these norms impacted societies view of the mentally ill. Similar, to the days before asylums community care took over as the chief way to care for those with mental disabilities. During the twentieth century America had become a progressive nation so, it was reasonable to believe that these individuals could seamlessly integrate into society. The major issue was that society had retained the same negative stigmas about mental illness that led to the overcrowding and hiding away of these individuals. These beliefs are perfectly exemplified in the \u201cAction for Mental Health Report\u201d written by the Joint commission in 1961. It states that \u201cThey do not feel as sorry as they do relief to have out of the way persons whose behavior disturbs or offends\u201d (Action for mental Health, 58). The significance of this quote is that it shows the overall lack of empathy towards mentally ill Americans during this time. It speaks to the fact that most Americans would rather these individuals be locked away than \u201cdeal with\u201d their behaviors. For many these asylums had become places to \u201cdrop off\u2019 unwanted or troublesome individuals. In a turn of events the states were the ones dumping off patients. America answered with a lack of empathy for these individuals, which is a problem considering that is a major part of community care.<\/p>\n

Aside from convenience there was another driving factor in the ostracization of the mentally ill in America. Since they had been \u201chidden away\u201d for so long, many Americans didn\u2019t know what to make of these \u201cnewly\u201d added individuals. So, from societies perspective the \u201cstrangeness\u201d of their actions helped to further solidify their ideas of the mentally ill.\u00a0 Along with strange behaviors there was a general lack of understanding of what mental illness is especially in the broad society\u2019s knowledge. With a lack of empathy, a more damaging societal view emerged. It is noted that \u201cIt has been observed countless times that sight or thought of major mental illness, as our culture has come to understand it, stimulates fear\u201d (Action for mental Health Report, 59). This sort of fear of the unknown that Americans had developed created a new set of problems more significant than \u201cfitting in\u201d to society. Not only did patients have to face the transition into society they had to do it in a world that actively feared them for factors that were out of their control. It is important to note that this quote is from 1961 but this sentiment carried throughout the rest of the century.<\/p>\n

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