The Definition of Insanity

The human condition, encompassing physical illness, psychological illness, emotional high’s and low’s, varying degrees of skill and knowledge, varying degrees of aptitude and gifted ability, is inescapable.

The human race has demonstrated every combination of those dynamics ever since Eden.

Human history is repeat with examples of selfless bravery, and depraved cruelty.

An excellent example of cruelty is one particular Mental Asylum during Europe’s Middle Ages, known as Bethlem Royal Hospital.

It’s had many names: St. Mary Bethlehem, Bethlem Hospital, and Bedlam. The word bedlam, meaning uproar and confusion, is a definition derived from this hospitals name, and you’ll see why in a moment.

It was founded in 1247 as a priory (similar to a monastery), and in 1330 became a hospital. In 1357 they started to admit some mentally ill patients. This would mark the beginning of their extremely cruel “patient care”.

The care in question was not to any degree diagnosis and treatment, but of restraint and abuse. The noise was, “so hideous, so great, that they are more able to drive a man that hath his wits rather out of them.” [Wikipedia - no source sited]

Johann Christian Reil (1759-1813) describes the conditions: “We incarcerate these miserable creatures as if they were criminals in abandoned jails, near to the lairs of owls in barren canyons beyond the city gates, or in damp dungeons of prisons, where never a pitying look of a humanitarian penetrates; and we let them, in chains, rot in their own excrement. Their fetters have eaten off the flesh of their bones, and their emaciated pale faces look expectantly toward the graves which will end their misery and cover up our shamefulness."

Patients were often naked, and locked into what we would consider cages today, fed through holes from copper plates attached to chains. Their theory was that the more painful the restraint, the better the results. Therefore, Strait jackets and chains attached to walls or beds were used, particularly with “difficult” patients. These restraints often inflicted wounds on the patients, who received little of what can be considered care from the attendants who were uneducated, and could find work in no other field.

Two 17^th century physicians described the reasoning of why the mentally ill were thus treated. Thomas Willis, author of "Two Discourses Concerning the Soul of Brutes" claimed that the insane can: "break cords and chains, and break down doors or walls... without any sensible hurt." Willis declared that, "Discipline, threats, fetters, and blows are needed as much as medical treatment." And Dr. Isaac Hawes wrote, "Nothing is more necessary for the recovery of lunatics than forcing them to respect fear. This is why maniacs recover much sooner if they are treated with torture instead of with medicines."

This line of thinking was adapted full bore by Bedlam Hospital, which allowed the general public in on “tours” of the facility. For the price of one penny, tourists could peer into cells and look at the deranged and naked patients for entertainment, which consisted of sexual exploits and rantings, or fights.

In 1814 alone, there were 96,000 such tourist visits. [Wikipedia]

Visitors were allowed to bring sticks which were used to poke at the inmates in order to enrage them.

"If they are not mad when they go into these cursed houses, they are soon made so by the barbarous usage they there suffer... Is it not enough to make anyone mad to be suddenly clapped up, stripped, whipped, ill fed, and worse - used? To have no reason assigned for such treatment, no crime alleged, or accusers to confront." (Daniel Defoe - quoted on MentalHealthStigma.com)

One of the best portrayals of a “Bedlam” type of institution was in the movie “Amadeus”, directed my Milos Forman, written by Peter Shaffer. This youtube clip is 9 and a half minutes, but in our discussion here one need only focus on the very first half minute of the clip, which illustrates beautifully how mental hospitals, like Bedlam, were operated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWCSc8CspA

Today care for the mentally ill is more humane.

Years ago I spoke with a Psychiatrist who was a guest speaker at a Church in California. I raised with him the premise that when a Psychiatrist studies a particular case history of an individual who has wreaked havoc on people in their life, and the background of abuse, and background of a severely dysfunctional home life is examined, it suddenly becomes very easy to forgive aberrant behavior once we know the full story of what may be causing it.

He agreed with me.

The Born-Again Christian also has that advantage, in that, we know of the human condition of sin, and this sin is what causes aberrant behavior such as violence, theft, slander, adultery, idolatry, abuse, laziness, and the list goes on.

The Bible is the best “bench mark” of proper mental health.

This sounds odd when the skeptics raise their voice in protest of this, that the Bible is the Word of an Angry God who only goes around punishing people, and asking Israel to kill in His name.

But just like those mental patients in Bedlam in the Middle Ages, mankind is kept in the cage of immorality - tormented by the deceiver and his minions - only to be fed scraps of reason and dignity passed to us on plates of promise, attached to chains of sin, provided by caregivers who could no more care about us than the devil himself.

Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”