Using several examples of historical treatments for mental illness, compare and contrast the underlying perspectives (i.e., biological, psychological, social, and biopsychosocial) regarding mental health that have favored these treatments. The underlying perspectives regarding mental health have changed dramatically throughout history. Theories of the ancients implicated spirits in controlling human behavior. It is thought that to cure someone trepanation (cutting away sections of the skull) is done to allow the release of evil spirits. During the classical Greek and Roman periods the idea was that the Gods had control over behavior. If you disobeyed the deities you could be punished with mental illness. Hippocrates (460-277 BC) identified the symptoms of mental illnesses as such; hallucinations, delusions, melancholy, mania and hysteria. He believed that mental illness was caused by the environment and physical changes. He believed that they created humors (imbalance of body fluids) and that patients should be separated from their families, which created the idea of institutions. Galan had medical expertise: neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neurology, pharacology, psychiatry and philosophy. After the fall of the Roman Empire, demonology once again dominated theories. However, Avicenna believed that depression was the result of the mixture of moods and believed that physical illnesses were caused by emotional distress. His idea of treatment was music. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, demons were thought to control all evil, including mental illness. During this period approximately 100,000 were sentenced to death on witchcraft or demonic charges. During this period, mass hysteria erupted, leading some… half the paper… to establish the difference between normal and abnormal behavior; provide at least one historical example of behavior that is no longer considered abnormal. In the past, anything that did not fit society's norms was considered abnormal. So much enlightenment has been shown in recent decades that the range of normality has broadened its horizon. For example, homosexuality was considered immoral and shunned by many. Today's society has become very tolerant of each other's choices. Today we view abnormal behavior as behavior inconsistent with the individual's developmental, cultural, and social norms that creates emotional distress or interferes with daily functioning. I find this to be very fair. If a person's individual actions do not cause discomfort and do not affect his ability to function, then they should not be considered indifferent.
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