Mental Illness in the 19th Century By Carrie Hughes

     In the article Mental Illness in the 19th Century by Carrie Hughes, the article talks about the causes  and ways of treatment for mental illness'. The firsts colonists blamed mental illness' on witchcraft and demonic possession (a term often used to describe the control over a human form by a demon). People who were mentally ill were sent to alms houses( chartible housing provided to enable people, typically elderly people who can no longer earn enough money to pay rent, to live in a particular community) or they remained untreated at a home. THe conditions in these p;aces were very poor and appaling. Beginning in the late eighteenth century "moral treatment " had become the most common way of treatment in the United States. "Moral Treatment" predicted that insanity was caused by brain damage. "Moral Treatment replaced the model of demonic possession.
    By the 1880sw people were turing against asylums because of the stories about their terrible conditions. Even though people were turning against Mental Asylums, the medical standards were inplemented. New theories/ treatments include "rest cures" and using static electricity. The central point of this article is explaining conditions of alms homes and moral treatment.
     My reaction to this article is that it is informative on the blames and treatments of mental illness'. I also find it discusting the way patients in the alms houses were treated.