My Grandfather was the director of physical education and activities at the Willard Asylum in Upstate New York. He would occasionally bring patients home with him for a weekend out. I remember some of these people, coloring pictures with them at the dining room table. Their pictures, like mine, always found their way to the refrigerator door. My Grandfather kept them all.
I was committed to a state hospital about 20 years ago. It was awful. I witnessed many awful things such as patients having to undergo court ordered ECT (against their will), patients being put into restraints and staff bragging about their take down techniques afterward (in ear shot of restrained patient and others), psychiatrists insisting that known medication side effects such as oculygyric crisis were actually not side effects at all and that patients were making it up, patients with eating disorders being forced to eat and sleep in "the fishtank" (a room in the center of the unit covered in windows), patients being made to wear paper clothes, patients taking their own lives, patients being openly mocked by staff, patients in emotional distress being ignored by staff, staff failing to protect patients from physical assault by other patients, etc. I don't think we've come quite as far as we would like to think. After all the most barbaric treatment of the past still occurs quite regularly in the present; a lack of compassion to those afflicted with mental illness.
The only change to the unthinkable barbarianism done then from now is now the unthinkable is more sophisticated and hiding the horrific evidence and the vast spectrum of pharma drugs has been adeptly mastered.
You damn right that barbaric shit (EST) STILL happens 1989 it happened to me and I still can't figure out WHO authorized it to be done. I wish I could get my hospital records and sue. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Don't NEVER go to OSU FOR ANYTHING. I also knew a woman who went to OSU FOR pneumonia and came out having been used as a lab rat for the effects of what radiation would have on the human body. She tried to sue,but everyone ( lawyers and the hospital lawyers)said the statue of limitation had run out. She died of cancer. The family was able to prove that the type of cancer she died from was in fact caused by the direct exposure that OSU had exposed her to. The family was able to get some financial combination tho. I wouldn't say even if I knew.
It’s truly sad what little progress physicians have made such little progress. I believe that’s why there’s so much “shame” associated with mental illness. None wants to be called a fruit loop or nut case. I suffered pica with my first child and post partum depression with my second child. I’m also a recovering drug addict and I think they treat addicts the worst. By the grace of God, I’ve made it to 52, I’ve been sober 7 years and my anxiety and depression is under control. To top it off, I also have multiple sclerosis and adhd and I’m sure they’d just euthanize me. We can only hope that things get better. It’s a shame how animals get treated better than an animal.
That’s because it’s not learning how to take care of people, it’s sadists getting Free run of a unmonitored playground. How is frying a brain gonna chase away depression? At most it’ll encourage a depressed person to fake being better to stop being electrocuted.
You are a very strong and brave person for speaking your truth, and I'm sure, it's a similar truth for a lot of people who haven't previously had the courage to speak up. I know I personally didn't for quite some time about how I was treated with my mental health my entire life. Even as a child, no one understood me, but now I know enough to understand myself, to be able to continue to learn, and educate myself and other people about mental illness. I hope to one day become a PRSS Counselor, and help others in need. I suffer from severe PTSD, SPD, ADHD, OCD, severe Anxiety, Agoraphobia, Chronic Depression, a severe mood disorder, and I am a recovering addict. I've spent my entire life afraid to show anyone who I really am, because I am not defined by my disorders, but I AM treated as such by people who are ignorant/uneducated about the vast numbers and varieties of mental health conditions. I have a very small circle of friends, and a small part of my family that are amazing people who have helped me in many ways. I will be eternally grateful for the few that are a part of my support system. It's isn't easy to trust anyone when you're always scared that someone will just think you're a nut case. Mental illness is something I will spend the rest of my life helping educate myself, and others about.
My late Mother told me a story about the mental ward at Liverpool hospital in the 1960s...Whilst visiting a friend, she noticed there was a woman there with hair down to her tail bone that was matted and filthy... no one could get close to her to cut it off. She used to run screaming and scatching, biting and kicking. My Mother took just one look at her and said "Oh my goodness, haven't you got beautiful long hair!" The sad Woman looked at her and said "thank you... would you please help me brush it?" My Mother (who wasn't afraid of much in this world) said "Yes, I'd would be honoured!" Turning to a nurse she said "Can you get me a hair brush please?" The nurses and Doctors were stuck fast with a look of shock on their faces! One of them raced to grab a brush. My mother sat with the lady and ever so slowly started brushing from the ends... slowly working through the knots and tangles. They sat together for three hours straight They talked, sang, laughed. It was the first time in four years they had heard this poor woman laugh and seen her smile. My gentle mum promised to go there every Tuesday and finish brushing her hair. Once fully brushed, she washed it and plaited it. They drank Tea together exchanged histories and my mother even taught her to speak Italian (mum told me, whatever she learned she retained perfectly!) My Mother, kept her Tuesday promise every week for two years, doing her beautiful hair, till this poor lady Died. Sadly she went in one Tuesday, and my Mother learned that her friend had passed away. She wasn't given a service nor the respect of a decent burial. She was classed as a nobody. Because she was mentally unwell, she was a nobody who apparently didn't even deserve the dignity of having a least one person -my Mother - to say Goodbye at her graveside. When Mum enquired where she had been put to rest, they refused to tell her and asked her to leave. And not return. Mum cried all the way back home. I've never forgotten this. Everyone, no matter what state they're in or what they have suffered, all deserve a bit of love, respect and kindness. ❤️
That is the saddest thing I've ever heard of 😢 that poor lady god rest her soul. And your caring patient mum who took the time to make that lady laugh and have some fun. Such an amusing story but really sad too x
Hey man, thanks for taking the time. As a disabled veteran; I am not sure how much of all that put me in my condition. But with head trauma, epilepsy, PTSD, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, night terrors; let's just say that it's everywhere. I was an FMF Corpsman and tried my best to help others. Now I need help. Please don't stop educating as much as you can. Thank you.
Thank you for your service! I had 2 uncles serve in the US Army. I also suffer with PTSD from a brutal rape attack, anxiety and panic attacks. I am also disabled with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, type 2 diabetes, and asthma. Life is very painful and stressful for me. I find comfort and solace in my cats, music, reading, nature, and helping/saving stray cats.
I have a head injury. I have had night terrors, panic attacks and more goodies ever since. Insomnia up to 60 hours...the trauma causes a lot of these other things. But i'm guessing you know that. And I am sorry you suffer. The next time I am suffering badly, I will think to myself "that person whose post I read on youtube is suffering with the same issues and he is not alone in it and I am not alone in it. There are a lot of us". Maybe knowing we're not alone in our suffering may bring some kind of comfort. But I'll keep the klonopin anyway just in case :) I hope you find some amount of healing and peace.
I worked for several years at a psych hospital for teens where the units were locked. It was the most interesting job I ever had. Also, the saddest, as when I read their charts, I would get so angry at their parents and realize these children really did not have a chance to be emotionally stable due to what they had suffered at the hands of their parents.
I was in one of those places. Mileui therapy, I think they call it? I was there for 11 months. I was talking to a friend of mine whom I met while we were there and she was talking about how bad the place had been, etc. I told her that it had been bad but it had also been so much better than my home and that I preferred it to being at home. There are some genuinely good people who work in those places. Thank you for having been one of them. (The good ones were the ones who actually had compassion for you.)
I sure am grateful to be living in this time. I suffer with PTSD, severe anxiety and depression. I would have probably been one of those people that could never leave. That's kinda scary.
I am a retired alzheimers/psyche nurse....this was all so very interesting, educational and emotional at the same time......mental health, even today, is misunderstood in many ways.
Because most mental illness is caused by Demons that's why it's mostly uncured and not understood by medical science. It's not the mind that's sick it's the soul that's sick and then Demons invade and influence.i myself before being saved realised my mind had been invaded by a Demon and after being saved the Demon was cast out and all thr tablets in the world and shrinks couldn't cure what Jesus cured in one minute.
Very!!! Tons of Americans suffer under doctors care, push the meds, under & overlying medicated, mis diagnosed, etc. From what i see today not even Seniors Services wants to be bothered! Hospitals and more just Screen them and Street them!! It's sad.
I actually love that they gifted that guy a new wheelchair as a token of good faith after all his hard work for him collecting all those cigarette packs. That's just sweet.
In high school, my psych class went on a field trip there. It was one of the reasons I studied psych in college. The things in that museum made me want to fight and advocate for those people that are too sick to advocate for themselves.
Always nice to "meet" another nurse who was also a candystriper! I LOVED volunteering in the ER. I too started at 14 in 2001 with the classic pink/white pinafore. I was actually the youngest person in the history of the hospital to be allowed to volunteer in ER at 15 and I continued to do so through nursing school. At 18, I become the youngest "pink lady" (adult volunteer) at the hospital. When we had our meetings I was the only one under 60 but I loved listening to their stories. Many of them were retired nurses and medics and they mentored me. I became an EMT at 19 and a nurse at 23.
My grandfather was a doctor during this time (1921-1956) and two world wars. He used to go to our local mental hospital to be present when they did the ECT. He told me once the best thing for the mentally ill was the advent of Thorazine. I am a nurse of 45+ years and remember some of the treatments of the mid 70's and they were still very inhumane by our standards. Thank you for going to this place and illustrating how far we have come with treatment and how far we still need to go.
Forcing treatment on patients is wrong. Antipsychotics have horrific side effects & running electricity through the brain is barbaric. And yet people force these things on other human beings & have the nerve to call it "treatment". Kind of makes you want to be a baptist.
In the UK there were two procedures that nurses could refuse to take parr in and these were termination of pregnancy and act I don't know if that's true today
My aunt was a nurse at the state hospital in South Dakota back in the early 60s and would sometimes come home and cry about the things she saw and did that shift. She wouldn't tell us kids why, but now I think she spared us.
A life lesson I learned personally some years ago is that there isn't a family in the world unaffected by mental health issues. It's more that the 'stigma' has meant we have been very poor at discussing it openly - from which everyone of all ages would benefit.
what was sad was back in those days if a husband got mad or just wanted to get rid of his wife he could have his wife committed to one of these facilities and there was nothing she could do about it, can you imagine going into there sane and how you would be when you were released if you were ever released.
Yeah, you want to be really sure the BH professional isn't putting their own context on a situation. Example: DV survivors often develop phobias or may be stalked. Newsflash, if someone actually is following them it's not paranoia.
This makes me really sad. My dad was committed to a state hospital in the 1970s... it was awful. We didn't know what to do or whether his treatment was appropriate or not... but it still is disturbing to me to see how we as a society have treated people.
We, as a society? WE seldom know what’s going on. WE wouldn’t automatically approve. Society, as a whole, isn’t like this. What’s terrifying is that these few people get away with it under the guise of being ‘educated intellectuals’.
My mom was in facilities like this both before and after I was born. She was in Manteno, Illinois before I was born in 1970 and Chicago Read in northwest Chicago. Both were shut down because of neglect and abuse. Manteno is abandoned now and is supposedly haunted. Read is now a mental health clinic for outpatient care. But when my mom was in these places much of the same things went on. Nothing was ever mentioned how they put everyone together also so there were many sexual abuses and rape both by patients and employees. I remember the whole time my mom was at Read they wouldn't allow me to see her, children not allowed inside. I missed seeing my mom so much and preventing mothers from seeing their children is horrible for them and their kids. I vowed I would never allow my mother to be put in one of these places ever again. She stayed with me my whole life up until she got severe dementia and insisted on going to a nursing home in November 2019. She had a stroke within one month. I went to see her every week until Covid hit. Two years not seeing her and being in that place took its toll on her and she passed away last April 2022. Nursing homes are just like these facilities too. I suffer with lupus, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and asthma which makes my depression and anxiety worse and not to mention the agonizing pain. No doubt if it was 100 years ago I'd be put in one of these places because they didn't even accept most of my diseases as medical conditions back then. Probably would've said its all in my head. I'd say if you are able keep your loved ones with you as long as you can because these places do not help people. Patients rarely get better in these facilities, in fact they decline.
@@debbylou5729 they get away with it because they buy land and build in rural areas away from everyone. Nobody sees or hears or even goes by and the ones running it know that so they can get away with anything they want. Hardly any family come to visit either. Sadly even to this day mental health facilities and nursing homes are still getting away with abuse and neglect. Authorities don't do anything till after something happens and even then some don't.
I'm not sure stuffing thousands of pills a year down someone's throat (i've been getting them for 40 years) will be seen as all that kind and helpful in 50 years (or less). but of course the 1970s were worse. I'm SURE the decisions your family made were thought to be the best options for your pop at the time. We are still FAR from very effectively treating psych disorders.
Pregnant woman also suffer from Pica its not uncommon. The Kennedy's had a sister they hid away that was permanently damaged from a lobotomy she was locked up in a hospital her entire life. Her name was Rosemary Kennedy. How they thought sticking an ice pick thru your eye would help anything is beyond me.
There are testimonies from people, and their family members that were helped by having a lobotomy done. I'm not sure as to the percentage that faired well, verses dying, or becoming a vegtable (like poor Rosemary). Not the best odds I suppose.
My partner's grandma had ECT and apparently she was really different after. I'm not sure it actually helped her mh issues (I don't actually know what she had...I didn't like to ask) She has dementia now, poor thing :-(
I've read some history and some people benefitted. They just stuck the ice pick in without any regularity or mapping. They think that these cases didn't destroy the entire self
I’m really pleased with how respectful you remained to the crazy things of the past while appropriately laughing at things that anyone would normally laugh at today without coming across rude. Thank you for that.
@@TheHistoryUnderground I don't. I actually make really fucking edgy shit, I am getting a doctorate in psych and I'm telling you that your laughs and protective behavior of the ABUSERS of mentally I'll people is fucked up
@@TheHistoryUnderground don't worry about the hate comments everyone copes with emotional impact differently I tend to crack jokes or sing lyrics from songs that fit its a coping mechanism your brain does to help you so you don't break down mentally.
I’m hoping sooner than later we’ll recognize that leaving people with mental illness to wander around the streets, unable to care for themselves, is cruel. It seems in a lot of cases, we’ve gone right back to where we were when Dorothea Dix appealed to congress for funding for state hospitals- housing the mentally ill in jails and on the streets.
In the 1980s and 90s there was a push to defund and shut down mental institutions because they were deemed cruel and inhumane. Many of the patients were set up in their own appartments and given SSI. Then the people involved patted themselves on the back for a job well done and wondered off to find something else to do. No-one bothered to check up on them. No-one bothered to see if they were even capable of caring for themselves, knew about paying rent, cooking, managing medications, setting up and getting to drs appointments ect. Spoiler alert, a lot of them weren't, that's why they were in the institutions to begin with. The lucky ones ended up in group homes, but there are only so many beds and there were other problems. Some of the one who sent their clients to the day training center my dad worked at were getting patients direct from the state Institute for the criminally insane. One would become violent and then take bites out of her arm and spit them at whoever tried to calm her down. Another was this sweet little old man, who every so often decided he wanted to murder someone. It was a whole crap show and has been getting worse and worse ever since.
Not from personal observation, but in the media, we see and hear about some homeless people who have a sharp mistrust of the government. They are reluctant to go to kitchens, and very reluctant to go to a shelter. I really just don't know what approach could be used to get these people the care they need. In many cases, the delusional thinking that makes them fearful of the places where they could find help is a factor in their homelessness in the first place.
I'd just like to say thank you. I'm a psychologist with an interest into psychological history. Most people who document Psychiatric hospitals/ institutions dramatise everything even down to the title of their video, but you have not. You hit the nail on the head when you spoke about these treatments were the best/ most up to date of their time. Due to research we have progressed to our best fitting treatments. Yes, in 100 years, people can look back at our treatments (just like we look back at the middle aged treatments) and think we were barbaric for dosing people up on medication (the medicated lobotomy). History is there to be learned from and to be treated with respect- thank you for doing that. The patients in every Psychiatric Hospital are/ were people too.
I am not a medical professional but sometime along the way i heard there were concepts and standards known as medical ethics in the past as well as the present
Didn't think showing the art pieces would make me cry, it's so interesting I feel like there is something connected with mental illnesses and being a creative person. I have been creative my whole life and suffer with depression and anxiety. I know others that are really creative and struggle with mental heath.
When you showed the embroidered story, then the artwork, I got tears in my eyes. That art was extraordinary. It's sad really. I had to start making things or I would get so depressed. I started with paint by numbers when I was a young girl. I have done macrame, embroidery, counted crossstich (you count the squares of the fabric to find the center or wherever you want to start, and the smaller it was, the better I liked it). Diamond painting, paper quilling, cooking and baking, (my baked things are legendary), drawing, painting, jewelry making, Leather work, car upholstery, working on engines, horsehair braiding (with our own horses hair) etc. Always busy with my hands. I'm 68 now. My hands are sore from arthritis but I do things when I can anyway. I understand that the doctors and nurses did their best. The embroidery the girls did for the nurse speaks volumes for her character.
Wow it sounds that you have accomplished plenty in your life. Most people that are "normal" can count watching TV among their accomplishments and not much else :) Very impressive list.
That was unexpected. Old treatments were harsh, so glad they have evolved but sorry to say the mental health system is still failing groups of people. This museum reminds me of the Mutter Museum. Thanks for another great video!
Shapiro Center in Kankakee, Illinois had a small museum, but they closed it to staff and visitors. Used the excuse of old floors and stairs . So disappointing.
I’m writing this in order as you talk about things lol Heavy furniture is also harder or impossible to throw. From 2019-2021 I worked at a modern short term inpatient psychiatric hospital and our patient beds weighed 2,000 lbs each and required 12 large men to move if not taken apart. On the topic of the mental illness Pica, I had some patients eat dry wall, foam, and even batteries. The hospital I worked in also still does elective ECT. In modern days they are sedated, restrained to avoid hurting themselves, and constantly monitored by a team of medical professionals and constant vitals. The most common side effect is head ache and/or short term memory issues. Some people see little to no change, but I have had patients who went from completely catatonic (not moving, eating, toileting, etc) from depression to skipping down the hall singing and smiling in under a week. For some people it is literally a miracle cure. The restraints we used were similar to the leather ones but were a rubbery plastic that is able to be sanitized. There were 3 units at my hospital and a unit I didn’t work on, which was for acute patients, had multiple restraints per day. The Utica bed is interesting. On my unit we had a quiet room that was nothing but a blank white room with a bed and clouds on the ceiling. We had many patients to request to sleep in there because they liked being secluded as they felt safe in the blank quiet. Also, I live in upstate NY not too far from Utica, NY where this bed was first used. Never knew! Our halls were covered in art from patients. Running the activity group and creating art with my patients was my favorite thing to do. They were all such interesting and unique people. They all hugged me on my last evening there. I miss them. As someone who’s suffers with mental illness myself I always had a special connection to them because I knew what they felt. Thank you for sharing this place. I’d love to visit sometime! The brain is a mysterious thing and we still don’t know a lot about it. I’m sure I’m the future people will think where I worked was barbaric!
The first therapist I went to when I was depressed suggested the use of ECT. I couldn't go to her again bc of my insurance, but I was horrified. My father had remarried to a nasty woman, and I was depressed bc if it and the fact that I was going to have to find my own place.
Not only were the treatments often barbaric, so were a lot of the reasons that people were sent there. Sometimes people used insane asylums as a way to just get rid of someone. Many individuals in asylums were abused either physically or sexually. A brutal place to be for sure. 🥺
ECT is HORRIFIC even until recently. My mother was severely mentally ill throughout my life. At one of her psychiatric hospital stays when I was 11 was my 1st memory of one of her ECT treatments and it's still painful to think about today. She was brought to the visiting area in a paper outift and totally unaware of her surroundings. She had no idea who I was. Never a word said to prepare my dad or us kids to how she was going to be. Smh. Her eyes looked empty and I remember my little heart breaking....it was so terrible
@amber I agree that ECT is one of the most horrible treatments!! I work in a psych facility and ppl are never the same afterwards. Just a shell of a human. It doesn't even work. I'm so sorry that you had to see and go thru all Of that.
They still use it today. Albeit, under monitored anesthesia. Obviously, they need patient consent now. Wish insurance would approve more treatments like Ketamine.
THIS was very illuminating. I've dealt with major depression, anxiety and a raft of other crap for my entire life. I've been in hospital a couple of times as a result. I'm an incest survivor who realized in my mid sixties that what my father did was NOT my fault. That seems like a simple thing. But to FEEL it is different than being able to say it! I've always been able to talk about my problems with mental health. I found that it opened the door for other people to come forward with their problems. When I was homeless in the 2010s, we used to go out just before curfew, to have the last smoke of the day. We weren't allowed out from 5 pm on. So … a few of us would get in my car and drive around the block. I was just starting to come to grips with my abuse then and one day, I started a conversation in the car. A passenger said that she had been molested, as well. One "lady," who turned out to be my stalker, said she'd rather not have that discussion in front of her. I told her that in MY CAR I could discuss ANYTHING I wanted. Particularly if the others were OK with it! Being able to get people to open up and start their own dialog was/is so rewarding. Thank you. I look forward to seeing more of your videos …
Thank you for doing this video. I am a blind person, so all of your commentary and picture descriptions were very very helpful. When I was in college, I went to the East Texas mental hospital in Rusk Texas, and we got to see one of these places in action. Scary stuff. Mental illness is so scary, but all of us face the possibility. As you said, we all must focus on the person for who they are, I am a blind person, but it does not define me. It is only a character trait. Mental illness is the same way. They are people first. They have likes, dislikes, and dreams, just like the rest of us.
As a woman who suffers from manic bipolar, depression, anxiety and ptsd this scares me. Just thinking about being tied down or confined to a small space makes my heart race. I would’ve never been released from this hospital. Makes me sick to think about the trauma the patients had to deal with. 😢
I have Psychotic episodes due to Bipolar. I've had 7 months on section in 5 years since onset of symptoms. My husband found it very hard to seperate the horrific symptoms from the person he loves. His visits every day are the only thing that gave me hope. I always say tell me everything is ok. I know its soooo hard for him. I also developed Multiple Sclerosis. Bless him I don't know how he does it x
I worked in psych for over 30 years. You did a great job of talking about past treatment options. Science evolves. Hopefully we will get to a better place for treatment. 1990's was the " decade of the brain"...with new medication tx. However we need more discoveries for better tx. Thank you.
Part of the problem with early psychiatric facilities (and even now) is that they'd be started with the best of intentions and, as you said, doctors and other staff would be doing their utmost to provide the best care they could given the knowledge they had... but then under-funding and overcrowding would eventually overwhelm them. Even the best staff can only deal with so many people before standards start to fall in all areas. Burnout, warehousing, abuse from under-trained staff, etc. affects many institutions to this day.
As someone who has been passionate about mental health and mental illness treatment since childhood (my mother is schizophrenic), my first thought when I first saw your face/reaction to having been through the museum was "That's the face of a man who didn't know about the history of mental health before today." My friend, you've only scratched the surface. The world history of neuropsychology and mental health is, much like medicine as a whole, is as horrifying as it is amazing.
It's truly heartbreaking to see some of these "methods" they concocted and thinking of the poor souls they used them on who must have been utterly terrified as they were essentially experimented on.
I suffer from severe depression from all the losses in my life, starting at age 6 and ending with the loss of my whole large family including my only sibling with the passing of my mom in 2013. I lost 5 family members in 6 months to death when my mom passed. I also suffer from ptsd. NY grandson (whom I raised since birth) is autistic was bullied terribly in the city we lived in. He was told more than once that he shod go home and kill himself. We have since moved 500 miles away and he's blossoming. I'm still not dealing well. Heaven forbid you talk about it. Sad in this day and age.
As hard as it might be to do at the start but try saying this: "I want my mom to be happy and I derseve to be happy and I will be from now on." Say it how many ever times you need to, just over and over whenever you start to think of 'any' lost loved ones, consentrate on YOU & MOM'. It's no disrespect to any other 'lost' family members, you'll be remembering them lovingly as well == at times to come == but for now just please try to consentrate on YOU & MOM = that blocks out for those moments over heartbreaking memories. " I WANT MY MOM TO BE HAPPY AND I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY AND I WILL BE FROM NOW ON." Say it as many times as you want esp. when sad thoughts might tend to pop up, say it dureing the day, at night, who cares when, it's up to you. It rederects your thinking about the past so much and gets you into thinking about being able to start moving forward. Today = is all we have, tomarrow isn't promised to anyone, it's a day that we can choose to be positive, to be happy, to be productive. 'Today' will become 'tomarrow' all too soon, but then another wonderful day will pop up before you'll know it. If we 'live' in the past, just filled we sadness, then we stay sad, so busy remembering the past that we waste our todays and tomarrows. I WANT MY MOM TO BE HAPPAY AND I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY AND I WILL BE FROM NOW ON." Saying that however many times you want can really help if you give it a chance. I was an Army Drill Sergeant for 7 years and one of my trainees lost his family in a car accident and he was really having a very though time. I asked him to do what I'm asking you to do, just give it a try and hopefully it can help you too. It doesn't mean you don't love your other lost ones any less, it's just you deserve to be happy, plain and simple as that, 'they' your lost ones would want you to be happy. YOU AND YOUR GRANDSON.😙 I hope this little comment helps and God bless. 🤘👻💖
i’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety over the past few years, and as of last year it got really bad and i had to stay in a short term psychward. seeing the art that these patients made really made me happy because i remember drawing thing my s from my experience there just to help express how i felt as well as meeting others who did the same. for one patient i met he was so bad at communicating because of his bad anger issues that he found peace in art and was able to express himself to others that way. i just think it’s cool how art and mental health coincides.
I too struggle with severe anxiety,depression, I am bipolar and have cognitive and anger problems, in other words I do not play well with others. From the age of four years old I have always loved to draw, and later paint and now I am a multi media artist, self taught. My calmer times are when I am making art, I am blessed to have a husband who strives to understand my illness and supports me making art.
Hope you are in a better place now than you were previously. I have also spent time in a mental health hospital and it did help me at the time. We are definitely lucky to live in this era. 🙏
As a person with depressive anxiety disorder, GAD and PTSD I'm thankful I was born in the last 40 years and not back in these times. I was so terrified of being committee that I hid my mental illness. It got too much to take and I finally saw a specialist. She was amazing and assured me that ppl don't get committed anymore.
You can still be admitted even as an adult if they (medical, eats,emts, police and other health personnel) deem you a threat to yourself or others. Commonly know as being chaptered. A judge is ultimately the one that allows you to leave if certain conditions are met. 72 hour hold.
@@cassiesalter5442 It's known as being sectioned around here. No one is really safe from this, considering anyone can accuse you of being mentally ill for any reason and who knows, you may just have an idiot who wants to make a name for themselves and comes after you. You see this kind of thing on Audit the Audit a lot.
Thank you for showing this. My mom, who was a nurse, often talks about people she cared for and ended up developing a loving connection to the patient. She worked in oncology and would often tell us her ‘nursing stories.’
The “ice pick” lobotomy was actually trained to any staff willing to learn. So they didn’t have to be a doctor. ECG , cold pack, and hydrotherapy are horrific. My mother was treated with all of them back in the day and it’s given her even more trauma. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Even more horrific is it was just back in 1960s-1980s.
@@SALAMINIZER13 “How do we learn?” Listen to those who suffer from these disorders. Actually listen. Don’t try to discount their experiences just because it’s “all in their head” and don’t try to persuade them that they should feel differently.
I live here. My mom worked here when she was pregnant with me in the 80’s. The State Hospital is still here. Just moved to a new facility. There are tunnels running under the old buildings. The place has a lot of history and horror. Also a graveyard full of unmarked graves. Only numbers on them. Tucked back behind the old hospital. It’s a sad place.
Being Bipolar myself an having PTSD with depression, I really feel an am very greatful to all those who have paved the way before us!!! God Bless you for doing this video it's the first I've watched an now have subscribed to you. I cannot wait to see other informative videos from you.
Dear History Traveller⚰️ I enjoyed this presentation as I do all your talks. I am an R.N. and have worked in a state psych. hospital. Although not perfect it was a far sight better than 100-150 years ago. I have cared for patients who ate odd things. Mostly it was hair! It is most interesting to work with the mentally I’ll. I found though after 1 1/2 years I wanted another area of nursing. I tried Obstetrics and loved it. Did it for 40 years!👼🏻I am now retired. I am now am amateur historian. I am studying the Civil War, U.S. prez and great shipwrecks. I truly love history. I have learned so many things about interesting people. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was given a patent? Only prez. to do so. Thanks for your interesting programs. Look forward to more
I am in awe at the painting toward the end. They are most stunning. I believe that with open minds and hearts we would have more compassion and empathy for the people with mental illness. And the Drs and nurses who worked with them should be given lots of credit for the work they do to help break the stigma. And thank you for opening our eyes to see more clearly.
As a nurse who often interacts with many areas of health, I really enjoyed your presentation. I especially appreciate how you reminded viewers that times/treatments have changed. Treatments are a constantly evolving life form. Thanks for the education
I appreciate your continued efforts to bring us history, and also to continue to conceptualize history within its own timeframe. We lose appreciation for the past when we view it from the lens of the present. It does not justify past wrongs, but it paints an accurate picture of from where we have come.
So glad we’ve come a long way in treating mental illness. Those paintings were amazing. I have a friend who teaches art therapy and I’ve seen of the work her students do. It’s truly amazing. Thank you for another great video. It was an eye opener.
I used to do that in day programmes at a community centre for people with AOD and mental health issues, a few went onto further art training, as well as classes in gardening, languages, driver's licence theory, crafts, phone photography etc. My people were very cool, my manager not so much.
I had a great uncle back in 1923, who witnessed his father being killed by a neighbor, his mother died in childbirth, & my grandma & her siblings were placed with relatives, due to my great uncle being 3 years old, & stopped talking, the state of Ohio placed him in an asylum in Columbus, Ohio. When he turned 18, since the state owned him, they would not allow him to leave but for a few days during a month. My grandma would go & get him, though he talked fine, to me as a small child, & smiled at us kids all the time, I had never seen him go coocoo. My grandma had said when she would go to pick him up,( she had to walk long hallways, that always stunk of human feces & anything else you can imagine) she seen many of the mental patients, living in a barn like structure, naked with straw under their bodies, screaming at the top of their lungs, in cages. Here was my great uncle seeing this as a 3 year old child, because he would not talk, they pegged him as retarded. He died in that same asylum, which by the late 80's they tore down.
Veteran FF/EMT here I victim of abuse and attempted murder as a 6 yr old. I present like a regular dude but I'm not ok. Never was. Bible promises a resurrection for the Godly inclined and dedicated Christians. Rest assured my guy. Your uncle Wil be back.
The state hospital near where I live has a farm as well. The patients lived it, as you stated it gave them purpose. When it was taken away from them, the legislature said it was against their civil rights, several of the patients committed suicide. They lost what theyhad to look forward to every day and saw no purpose. The medical staff told the Gov. what would happen but they didn't case or believe them. They (Gov. ) said it was forced labor.
That is so sad. You didn't say what year that was, but I imagine it was fairly recent - as in, in the days of social media -since the decision was probably in response to "public outcry" from individuals far removed from the reality of the situation. I suffered a bout of acute depression (didn't speak unless forced to for 3 months) after I completed all the steps for recovery from a crippling accident. What brought me out of it was chickens: something I could care for, things I had to do every day because they depended on me. A sense of purpose, goal oriented activities with a reward, are critical to our well being.
A model example of how ineffective and incompetent government leaders and other bureaucrats tend to be, and very revealing of their ultimate purpose, which is power and control, never improvement. We watched this behavior at the first stages of the COVID outbreak. They never listen to the professionals nor care about results, because they fancy THEMSELVES as the experts and arbiters of truth, justice, health, morality, etc. They are God. They are the judge. They are the law.
@@epowell4211 Your absolutely right, "Keep your mind busy, lest you wither in despair", is an old quote I often think of, and caring for animals is a well known way of keeping sane. I have recently started feeding a few garden birds and Iv found myself rushing out twice a day minimum to top up their supplies, it keeps me busy and i now have seed on my shopping list! The trouble is we are in summer the easiest time for wild birds, I already need to stock up for winter 🌞😁
And it’s now that way in many states with foster children. We were foster parents for many years and they decided the children can’t do chores (in some states only) and I was appalled. I said “how are they going to gain skills? How do they feel good about themselves and a job well done? How do they know if they might enjoy gardening or sewing or building except they work along with us?” People should not be allowed to make laws unless they have lived it themselves.
Retired paramedic and corrections officer, here… and a lifetime resident of Misery! I had never heard of this museum, or your channel, but I am grateful to the algorithm that brought me here! Will definitely be subscribing… and paying a visit to the museum in person. (Edit: Came back to watch a second time, and to offer a personal favorite as a potential site for you to visit! For your consideration: The Higgerson School Historic Site and Museum in New Madrid, Missouri. It is part of my family’s history, and I could get you an exclusive with the last teacher - my grandmother. You could even include the pre-civil war era Hunter-Dawson Home, at one end of the same street, and the New Madrid Faultline Museum at the opposite end! Absolutely thrilled history buff here, so happy I found your channel! You do an awesome job on all aspects, absolutely loved it!)
Thank you for doing a video on this amazing museum. It truly is shocking and sobering what happened to loved ones. And God bless those who have compassion for others. We need more of you!
It’s so sad to know that people were treated worse than animals. Even today the mental illness is such a taboo. Some of the horrible things that happened is so sad. I was placed in a state institution at the age of 15 and stayed more then a year. By my parents. Afterwards there was no follow up treatment. My life is still messed up. All I needed was to be loved and nurtured
@@taylorpresley4604 thank you for your kind words.. the first few years my life was tough but I went on to get married and divorced x2 I raised 2 wonderful children college graduates and I now have 4 grandchildren. I went to nursing school at 42 after 37 years in the field I retired
The pathetic thing is that art supplies are now largely treated as though these were weapons. If you find yourself confined to an institution with any art supplies, be prepared to fingerpaint. Or make some lovely collages with non-functional safety scissors. Then, be prepared to hear that this is all the fault of former patients, who abused the privilege of basic art supplies.
@@erinthesystem9608 i found myself in a position where even my shoelaces were considered a weapon . Ive seen soo many different medium being used Some cleaver ones , some not so much
@@luisdejesus1758 That is true. The American Art Museum in DC has one elaborate structure a prisoner made using only the foil from inside cigarette packs. (I want to say it's modeled off the Palace of Versailles, but that might not be it; either way, it is impressive!)
Thank you, I found this video very interesting. I have Bipolar 2 w/psychotic features, and I am so grateful that all I have to do is take my pills 3 times a day to keep my illness in remission. I feel badly for the thousands of mental patients who were subjected to those treatments.
Boy, I wasn't expecting that! It's interesting yet sad and tragic at how we treated people over the ages because of mental health or simply because they were different.
I am an RN supervisor for a long-term psychiatric facility. I love what I do, and we have come a long way, but still, many changes need to be made! Very interesting video, thank you 😊
Mental health reform is so important in advocating for those with mental health conditions. The fact that these institutionalized, psychiatric facilities and their practices were so common as a tx method, not even a century ago, is astonishing. The work that deinstitutionization and community-based mental health services play on mental health reform is a monumental step into giving adequate support for those who need it. And of course, there is still work to be done, but I am glad that facilities like this aren't used as the only pathway into treatment for those with mental health conditions.
I have a personality disorder (BPD), and something that is a very big problem and a stigma in the present is how people view personality disorders. It's frequently used as a scare factor in horror content (schizophrenia, DID, bipolar, BPD, etc) and a lot of people call abusers narcissistic without understanding that A) narcissism is an actual disorder (NPD), and B) a personality disorder doesn't make someone abusive. People are abusive because they are just abusive, and we need to stop labeling abusers as psychopathic, unempathetic, and narcissistic. The more we stigmatize personality disorders, the less likely it is that people will get the help that they need. Many of these disorders are caused by childhood trauma so adding onto that trauma isn't helping. People shouldn't have to feel ashamed of their disorder because the public is mislabeling and stigmatizing their disorder. I can say with confidence that it has made recovery really, really hard for me, it's so much harder than it should be because I'm afraid that if people find out about my struggles, they will think that I'm abusive. Nobody should have to be afraid to talk to people because if they open up, these people will be afraid of them or hate them. It sucks so much. It's sadly also very common for actual medical professionals to be dismissive or judging towards those with personality disorders. Speaking from experience, a therapist straight up refused to help me for two years straight but she also wouldn't let me see any other therapist because she failed to understand how a personality disorder will lead to s*icidal behaviors if it's left untreated. I went to the mental hospital for one week and she thought I was fine without any other treatment for my disorder. I landed myself in the mental hospital a second time because of it. These experiences are so common. The public needs to understand that depression and anxiety aren't the only mental disorders out there, and if someone wants to advocate for mental health then they need to include advocating to the more "unconditional", "unpleasant", and "strange" disorders; the ones that are difficult for many people to fully understand.
When you talk about being barbarians, I remember in the 1960, when I was young, I had to go to the dentist. He strapped me into a chair so I could not move, while he was doing his procedure. Never forgot, now going to a dentist frightens me but I tough through it. Things have changed and gotten so much better. I feel for all the mental people who had to go through such an ordeal.
My uncle was in a German world war 11 prison for over 5 yrs. After returning to England, he had a LOBOTOMY and lived a pretty peaceful life up until his death... THRU the years I've learned, even in my own family, they can be VERY smart and VERY talented... THANK YOU for sharing this ! ❤ We AAALL need to learn to BE KINDER ! 😘😘😘
I'm glad some of these things are not being done any more. My Aunt had what they call baby blues now. Her husband at the time put her away. While away he adopted out the baby boy she had. They did shock treatment on her. She was never normal, and never stopped looking for her son. My Mom when to the judge, and tried to get him, but at that time my Mom had six kids.
I grew up in St. Joe, my Mother worked there for many years back in the late 50’s to early 60’s. I remember her telling us stories about that time. It’s a very interesting museum, and there’s a lot to take in. After a certain point it became a juvenile hospital. St. Joe has a lot of history, and lots of great museums. Thanks for sharing!
We do need to educate people and destigmatize mental illness. I personally suffer with mental illness by the grace of God and a lot of good friends and many years of therapy and a little medication I’m doing well. I spent the last week with a friend who is hospitalized due to a severe manic episode. He is an incredible young man and I am so proud of him for fighting so hard to become stable. Would you criticize somebody for having a heart issue or kidney disease? Of course not. I pray for all out there that are struggling with mental illness. May God bless you and keep you.
I used to work in a state hospital, used to be a county poor farm and insane asylum in Michigan. Some of the "treatments" were certainly a surprise here. Still working in mental health. Thank you for sharing this!
this is so heartbreaking! I have a nephew who suffers from schizophrenia I can't even begin to imagine him being subjected to such horrible experiments just absolutely horrifying! I do understand the doctors were trying however it's still sad
My mother had a course of 6 ECT treatments and it turned her life around (and by extension ours too). It sounds barbaric but worked. She went from being unable or unwilling to communicate with catatonic spells, to her old self.
Thankyou for this video. It shows me alot of what my uncle went through. He had many electrical shock treatments and ice baths. His treatment caused his success in suicide. And he was only in our local asylum due to depression because his wife left him. So sad.
Thank you for your insightful and empathetic narration describing some of these old time methods of dealing with mental illness. I'm glad we have come so much farther. I do think we have a ways to go in educating people about the varied behaviors of those suffering from mental illness to help reduce the fear and stigma and help people have more empathy and understanding. You said it exactly at the very end. Thank you.
I've had ECT. It actually worked quite well for severe depression that was not responding to more typical medications etc. It was painless but I did experience significant short term memory loss at first. Great, informative video♡♡♡
ECT was offered to me for treatment resistant depression, but I didn't have it. I was hoping to be able to return to nursing and was afraid I wouldn't be able to if my memory was compromised. May as well have tried it, as I never was able to go back to work. I'm glad it helped you.
@@jenniferryersejones9876 I'm so sorry. The thing is, to this day, the professionals still have no idea WHY ect works for some people. It's terrifying to put the safety of your BRAIN in the hands of the others who cannot even explain to you how a dangerous procedure works. In my case, my depression was leading to bouts of catatonia and my doctor was afraid that if things continued to worsen, I might not be able to consent to ect....and worsen they did. My depression took over and I became persistantly catatonic. Luckily, my Dr saw this coming and made a "safety plan" w my family giving my consent to undergo ect as a last option. I don't think I EVER EVER would have been able to just make that decision on my own..I mean, it took me years..until I literally was stuck in a helpless, hopeless catatonic situation for this safety plan (a great, obvious plan...lol)to be put into action. I truly, honestly hope you've found a way out of the darkness of depression. If not. ECT is still an option. Yes...you most likely would have memory loss. In my case, it was temporary, but worth it. No one deserves to suffer the painful life depression creates. ♡♡♡. You deserve to live your best, most joyful life. You once were a nurse. That's awesome. Think of all the patients you've comforted. It makes me think of 2 nurses I was able to remember from my hospital stays. Idk their names but their nurturing care was unforgettable. Best wishes...♡♡
@@jesselynlee9703 Such wonderful words of encouragement and self-insight! I manage day to day, but a full scale depressive event is only blink away. Your dr. and family were marvelous to have a plan in place for you. I did an 8 week, voluntary stay at a mental health facility in the early 2000's, but got nothing out of it because I hated being away from my home so much and being expected to "share" and emote in front of a bunch of strangers. I am a "difficult communicator"! You've had quite a time of it and I really am so pleased for you that ECT worked. Wishing YOU, the very best!
My mom and dad both taught patients at this mental hospital. My mom worked in adult education, my dad occupational therapy like shop and metal working. The stories of patients and their interactions with them was interesting. By the time they taught there, patients were on a variety of medications.
Thank you for this video addition to your work. As a psychiatric nursing educator I was impressed with your efforts to tell the stories in a respectful manner which contributed to destigmatizing mental illness both then and now. Your efforts to put psychiatric treatments into context with the knowledge of the times is also appreciated. Janene Jeffery, MSN, RN. Clinical Associate Professor Austin, TX
As I’ve gotten older I have become interested in psychology. My fiancé (who has since passed away) has a DSM and when I found it and read some of I really found a topic that I REALLY got into. From there I came across Byberry Mental Hospital which when that closed many of the patients were moved to Haverford State which was within walking distance of my house. A friend of mine, his back years backed up to the grounds of Haverford and there was one night we were at his house and one of the patients was in his backyard. That gave us a little of a scare but he was used to it. Another thing that I came across during finding all of this information was Dr.Walter Freeman who invented the ice pic lobotomy. There is a documentary on TH-cam called The Lobotomist that I found VERY interesting. It really is unreal how people were and are treated. In Victorian times it was just a place for people to be tortured and forgotten. I also read 10 Day in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly which is an excellent read. I wish I found this interest when I was younger. I would have done something in the field.
You did a great job with this tour! The Pica patient’s stomach contents was absolutely amazing!!! I wish they had a picture of her before they opened her up. Imagine how bloated her stomach looked! A lot of these things were used in the prisons too. I worked inside a men’s prison that was built at the same time as Alcatraz, so it is really old AND still in use. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair! There are different units (buildings) at the prison I worked in. The building which had extremely mentally I’ll violent offenders was really scary. During training we toured every building. Oh, the lobotomy part of the museum reminded me of the oldest Kennedy daughter. Her parents had her get a lobotomy. She was a shell of herself after that. Very sad.
I remember watching Geraldo Rivera report on Willowbrook, and the mistreatment of the patients there. So horrible, what they had to endure. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this tour! I’m so glad that history is still alive in museums for people to learn from! Break The Cycle! Stop The Shame! Support The Person Within! ✝️🙏🏼☝🏼🇺🇸
Where I live we have an old Asylum that is being used as a haunted house. Eloise Asylum in Westland, Michigan. It's nice to actually see something good done with an an old Asylum. This is amazing. Thank you. ❤️ Hopefully someone will come to their senses and do the same thing with the one in my area. I have deep family ties to it.
With all the horror that was reality for some, the art was revealing. That humans who were so affected by mental illness could create such beauty under their living experiences is unexplainable! The piece that showed a hand, then revealed a face, literally took my breath! I would love to see more! I also would love to explore the quilt and the letters of the poor gentleman who stashed the in the tv. Thank you for this spirit opening video.
This was so well documented, thank you. At times horrifying but then so beautiful. Your narration was excellent and I loved that you left some “quiet time” for us to make our own conclusions. Subscribed immediately and thank you again for such a fascinating glimpse into the thankfully, past times medical “care”.
Thank you for this fascinating and respectful tour. My husband suffers with mental illness. The thing you said about people 100 years from now thinking that the heavy medication of today's treatments is barbaric hit home. I truly hope so!
The story about the guy who was saving packs of cigarettes to trade to buy a new wheelchair for the hospital is just so sweet. Even in his delusion he wanted to help others. Art (and music therapy) are still used today and are hugely beneficial not just for patients of mental disorders but also for the elderly or developmentally challenged. My doctor recently recommended ECT for me because of depression & anxiety issues. Due to some other health issues we are running out of medication options. I remain non-committal to the idea because I just can't bring myself to allow someone to shoot electricity through me.
Back in the 1980’s I worked n a mental hospital where ECT was performed. I was amazed at how it helped people, though I can certainly understand your hesitation. I saw it help bring one man out of depression, and an older woman out of a catatonic state. It may be worth examining further, but be sure you do what feels right to you.
Love places that turn into Museums like this. So much can be learned now because of this. I watch several abandoned explorers on YT which often times go into Psyciatric Asylums and it really interests me learning/seeing the way of life back then and what things they used. Same goes for machinery in factories or architecure of the places. I have severe anxiety since High School and learn to live with it very well now without medication and just have to thank people that acknowledge mental illness now and have routes for information and help. Since I didn't grow up with anxiety I at least had something to go off of to get back to. When I got into College I had my wisdom teeth pulled and got Vertigo as a result of the surgery. I have not only lived to deal with anxiety again during that but to live my life with that as well. Many days during that of migraine type experiences of not knowing how I got somewhere and having extreme tension headaches. Now 6 years later, headache free, and back to playing Basketball / mountain biking which I love. Definitely not the prefered route for many to not take medicine and take it slow, but people need to understand it's okay to ask for help, talk about what they are dealing with, and to take time for yourself to work through stuff.
I have also watched several abandoned explorers on YT and most of them are not interested in the patients as people, but as ghosts. They are for entertainment purposes only and teach you nothing.
It was a state-run hospital, Glore was an employee who started displaying artifacts of the hospital, which was the beginning of the museum. Still, you should be proud of your connection.
My mom has had mental health problems all of her life. She was never treated because she would never admit that she had anything. She came from the time when saying you had depression or some such problem was met by people calling you crazy and putting you in the 'crazy house'. She was born in 1947 and, though she's still here, she makes life hard on her family. I feel sorry for her sometimes, but she won't accept help. She only wants things her way and that's it - no compromise. I've always heard that people get mellower the older they get; this is not always true. Thank you for the presentation of this place. I just found your presentation very kind and open. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I remember in high school taking a tour of a state mental hospital as a science class field trip. It was a trip alright. History comes in all forms. As usual, good job. Keep traveling.
This was so interesting to watch! I'm a nurse and my passion is psychiatric care, I live in Raleigh NC and there used to be a state psych hospital called Dorthea Dix that was shut down recently as a new, modern hospital was built to replace it. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this video, I knew a lot of what you discussed already but it was still so interesting! I did chuckle at your mispronunciation of "pica", my hubby loves Pokemon so I could def see how you pronounced it the way you did! Mental health/psychiatric health needs to be talked about more and not so taboo... like Thomas Kirkland said, anyone can get pneumonia or a "bodily disease", just like anyone can develop a psychiatric condition.
Hi. Do you know of a mental facility that was called Southern Pines or something in South Carolina? I know it's a different state but thought it could've hurt to ask.
Than you for bringing a human element to these mental hospitals. For far too long channels have seen the people as another entity, lies ghosts and hauntings. Their artwork was impressive, better than some hung in some small galleries
Wow! That art really did speak for itself. Some of it was extremely touching. It is scary to think that some of those treatments were in place in the 60s and early 70s. Excellent video
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My Grandfather was the director of physical education and activities at the Willard Asylum in Upstate New York. He would occasionally bring patients home with him for a weekend out. I remember some of these people, coloring pictures with them at the dining room table. Their pictures, like mine, always found their way to the refrigerator door. My Grandfather kept them all.
Wow he was an amazing and kind person. I’m sure he helped those patients so much.
@@Wyreshark1 I like to think so. He certainly cared about them. Thanks for your comment 🙂
Sweet! Your grandfather seemed to have a very kind heart and understanding of his patients.
Your Grandfather sounds amazing, God love him ❤. Too bad he couldn't be cloned !!! Cherish those memories 💚
Good man!
I was committed to a state hospital about 20 years ago. It was awful. I witnessed many awful things such as patients having to undergo court ordered ECT (against their will), patients being put into restraints and staff bragging about their take down techniques afterward (in ear shot of restrained patient and others), psychiatrists insisting that known medication side effects such as oculygyric crisis were actually not side effects at all and that patients were making it up, patients with eating disorders being forced to eat and sleep in "the fishtank" (a room in the center of the unit covered in windows), patients being made to wear paper clothes, patients taking their own lives, patients being openly mocked by staff, patients in emotional distress being ignored by staff, staff failing to protect patients from physical assault by other patients, etc.
I don't think we've come quite as far as we would like to think. After all the most barbaric treatment of the past still occurs quite regularly in the present; a lack of compassion to those afflicted with mental illness.
The only change to the unthinkable barbarianism done then from now is now the unthinkable is more sophisticated and hiding the horrific evidence and the vast spectrum of pharma drugs has been adeptly mastered.
You damn right that barbaric shit (EST) STILL happens 1989 it happened to me and I still can't figure out WHO authorized it to be done. I wish I could get my hospital records and sue. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Don't NEVER go to OSU FOR ANYTHING. I also knew a woman who went to OSU FOR pneumonia and came out having been used as a lab rat for the effects of what radiation would have on the human body. She tried to sue,but everyone ( lawyers and the hospital lawyers)said the statue of limitation had run out. She died of cancer. The family was able to prove that the type of cancer she died from was in fact caused by the direct exposure that OSU had exposed her to. The family was able to get some financial combination tho. I wouldn't say even if I knew.
It’s truly sad what little progress physicians have made such little progress. I believe that’s why there’s so much “shame” associated with mental illness. None wants to be called a fruit loop or nut case. I suffered pica with my first child and post partum depression with my second child. I’m also a recovering drug addict and I think they treat addicts the worst. By the grace of God, I’ve made it to 52, I’ve been sober 7 years and my anxiety and depression is under control. To top it off, I also have multiple sclerosis and adhd and I’m sure they’d just euthanize me. We can only hope that things get better. It’s a shame how animals get treated better than an animal.
That’s because it’s not learning how to take care of people, it’s sadists getting Free run of a unmonitored playground. How is frying a brain gonna chase away depression? At most it’ll encourage a depressed person to fake being better to stop being electrocuted.
You are a very strong and brave person for speaking your truth, and I'm sure, it's a similar truth for a lot of people who haven't previously had the courage to speak up.
I know I personally didn't for quite some time about how I was treated with my mental health my entire life.
Even as a child, no one understood me, but now I know enough to understand myself, to be able to continue to learn, and educate myself and other people about mental illness.
I hope to one day become a PRSS Counselor, and help others in need.
I suffer from severe PTSD, SPD, ADHD, OCD, severe Anxiety, Agoraphobia, Chronic Depression, a severe mood disorder, and I am a recovering addict.
I've spent my entire life afraid to show anyone who I really am, because I am not defined by my disorders, but I AM treated as such by people who are ignorant/uneducated about the vast numbers and varieties of mental health conditions.
I have a very small circle of friends, and a small part of my family that are amazing people who have helped me in many ways.
I will be eternally grateful for the few that are a part of my support system.
It's isn't easy to trust anyone when you're always scared that someone will just think you're a nut case.
Mental illness is something I will spend the rest of my life helping educate myself, and others about.
My late Mother told me a story about the mental ward at Liverpool hospital in the 1960s...Whilst visiting a friend, she noticed there was a woman there with hair down to her tail bone that was matted and filthy... no one could get close to her to cut it off. She used to run screaming and scatching, biting and kicking. My Mother took just one look at her and said "Oh my goodness, haven't you got beautiful long hair!"
The sad Woman looked at her and said "thank you... would you please help me brush it?"
My Mother (who wasn't afraid of much in this world) said
"Yes, I'd would be honoured!" Turning to a nurse she said "Can you get me a hair brush please?"
The nurses and Doctors were stuck fast with a look of shock on their faces! One of them raced to grab a brush. My mother sat with the lady and ever so slowly started brushing from the ends... slowly working through the knots and tangles. They sat together for three hours straight They talked, sang, laughed.
It was the first time in four years they had heard this poor woman laugh and seen her smile. My gentle mum promised to go there every Tuesday and finish brushing her hair. Once fully brushed, she washed it and plaited it. They drank Tea together exchanged histories and my mother even taught her to speak Italian (mum told me, whatever she learned she retained perfectly!)
My Mother, kept her Tuesday promise every week for two years, doing her beautiful hair, till this poor lady Died.
Sadly she went in one Tuesday, and my Mother learned that her friend had passed away. She wasn't given a service nor the respect of a decent burial.
She was classed as a nobody.
Because she was mentally unwell, she was a nobody who apparently didn't even deserve the dignity of having a least one person -my Mother - to say Goodbye at her graveside.
When Mum enquired where she had been put to rest, they refused to tell her and asked her to leave. And not return.
Mum cried all the way back home.
I've never forgotten this. Everyone, no matter what state they're in or what they have suffered, all deserve a bit of love, respect and kindness. ❤️
Your mother, for certain. was met by many in heaven !
That is the saddest thing I've ever heard of 😢 that poor lady god rest her soul. And your caring patient mum who took the time to make that lady laugh and have some fun. Such an amusing story but really sad too x
A very beautiful story about two beautiful people. Thank you for sharing this 💛
What a beautiful woman, very rare kind
If any thing like this got out today. There would be serious consequences for the hospital. May she rest in peace.
Hey man, thanks for taking the time. As a disabled veteran; I am not sure how much of all that put me in my condition. But with head trauma, epilepsy, PTSD, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, night terrors; let's just say that it's everywhere. I was an FMF Corpsman and tried my best to help others. Now I need help. Please don't stop educating as much as you can.
Thank you.
Prayers for your healing.
God Bless You. Today, and always. Thank you for serving our great country and her people. I thank you from my heart.
You are in my prayers. Please try yoga, walking in nature, hiking near bodies of water.
Thank you for your service! I had 2 uncles serve in the US Army. I also suffer with PTSD from a brutal rape attack, anxiety and panic attacks. I am also disabled with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, type 2 diabetes, and asthma. Life is very painful and stressful for me. I find comfort and solace in my cats, music, reading, nature, and helping/saving stray cats.
I have a head injury. I have had night terrors, panic attacks and more goodies ever since. Insomnia up to 60 hours...the trauma causes a lot of these other things. But i'm guessing you know that. And I am sorry you suffer.
The next time I am suffering badly, I will think to myself "that person whose post I read on youtube is suffering with the same issues and he is not alone in it and I am not alone in it. There are a lot of us". Maybe knowing we're not alone in our suffering may bring some kind of comfort.
But I'll keep the klonopin anyway just in case :)
I hope you find some amount of healing and peace.
I worked for several years at a psych hospital for teens where the units were locked. It was the most interesting job I ever had. Also, the saddest, as when I read their charts, I would get so angry at their parents and realize these children really did not have a chance to be emotionally stable due to what they had suffered at the hands of their parents.
I've read some charts from children that were downright horrific. Makes my blood boil know children facing such things.
I was in one of those places. Mileui therapy, I think they call it? I was there for 11 months. I was talking to a friend of mine whom I met while we were there and she was talking about how bad the place had been, etc. I told her that it had been bad but it had also been so much better than my home and that I preferred it to being at home.
There are some genuinely good people who work in those places. Thank you for having been one of them. (The good ones were the ones who actually had compassion for you.)
I sure am grateful to be living in this time. I suffer with PTSD, severe anxiety and depression. I would have probably been one of those people that could never leave. That's kinda scary.
Hard times for those people in the past.
I so hear you, I have depression and probably would have been in one of these hospitals
True. Even being a woman in those times could get you sent away by your husband if you were too outspoken
I’m a battler and survivor of my own mental health and I’m with you on being grateful for modern era of treatment
Certain my husband would’ve sent me there for my big mouth
I am a retired alzheimers/psyche nurse....this was all so very interesting, educational and emotional at the same
time......mental health, even today, is misunderstood in many ways.
Thank you.
Because most mental illness is caused by Demons that's why it's mostly uncured and not understood by medical science. It's not the mind that's sick it's the soul that's sick and then Demons invade and influence.i myself before being saved realised my mind had been invaded by a Demon and after being saved the Demon was cast out and all thr tablets in the world and shrinks couldn't cure what Jesus cured in one minute.
I was a pediatric psychiatric nurse. I know exactly what you mean.
Very!!! Tons of Americans suffer under doctors care, push the meds, under & overlying medicated, mis diagnosed, etc. From what i see today not even Seniors Services wants to be bothered! Hospitals and more just Screen them and Street them!! It's sad.
@@blackmonday738 that's because live in a fallen world. Christ will return soon to bring his children home .
I actually love that they gifted that guy a new wheelchair as a token of good faith after all his hard work for him collecting all those cigarette packs. That's just sweet.
In high school, my psych class went on a field trip there. It was one of the reasons I studied psych in college. The things in that museum made me want to fight and advocate for those people that are too sick to advocate for themselves.
Yeah I was a candystriper at 14. NOW just an ancient Critical care nurse from Temple University Hospital Philadelphia USA ❤️
Always nice to "meet" another nurse who was also a candystriper! I LOVED volunteering in the ER. I too started at 14 in 2001 with the classic pink/white pinafore. I was actually the youngest person in the history of the hospital to be allowed to volunteer in ER at 15 and I continued to do so through nursing school. At 18, I become the youngest "pink lady" (adult volunteer) at the hospital. When we had our meetings I was the only one under 60 but I loved listening to their stories. Many of them were retired nurses and medics and they mentored me. I became an EMT at 19 and a nurse at 23.
My grandfather was a doctor during this time (1921-1956) and two world wars. He used to go to our local mental hospital to be present when they did the ECT. He told me once the best thing for the mentally ill was the advent of Thorazine. I am a nurse of 45+ years and remember some of the treatments of the mid 70's and they were still very inhumane by our standards. Thank you for going to this place and illustrating how far we have come with treatment and how far we still need to go.
Sad
Thorazine controls people it doesn't really help.
Ddlg abdl age regression little space my channel is autism
Forcing treatment on patients is wrong. Antipsychotics have horrific side effects & running electricity through the brain is barbaric. And yet people force these things on other human beings & have the nerve to call it "treatment".
Kind of makes you want to be a baptist.
In the UK there were two procedures that nurses could refuse to take parr in and these were termination of pregnancy and act I don't know if that's true today
My aunt was a nurse at the state hospital in South Dakota back in the early 60s and would sometimes come home and cry about the things she saw and did that shift. She wouldn't tell us kids why, but now I think she spared us.
Ddlg abdl age regression little space my channel autism
A life lesson I learned personally some years ago is that there isn't a family in the world unaffected by mental health issues. It's more that the 'stigma' has meant we have been very poor at discussing it openly - from which everyone of all ages would benefit.
I was a corrections officer for years and the talent/artistic traits they possessed was astonishing.
I was a CO at a women's facility, and watched a woman pluck out her eyeball and eat it.
@@ducttapeanddynamite3415 Goodness! That’s awful.
@@ducttapeanddynamite3415 dam.
@@ducttapeanddynamite3415 why didnt you stop her?
I see inmates eating their feces all the time. To me, they're nuts.
what was sad was back in those days if a husband got mad or just wanted to get rid of his wife he could have his wife committed to one of these facilities and there was nothing she could do about it, can you imagine going into there sane and how you would be when you were released if you were ever released.
Yeah, you want to be really sure the BH professional isn't putting their own context on a situation. Example: DV survivors often develop phobias or may be stalked. Newsflash, if someone actually is following them it's not paranoia.
This was common practice up until the 1970s. My father had my mother committed. I won't relate the rest but it was traumatic and tragic.
My great grandfather did that to my great grandmother. I hate the stories I heard about that man. He should have been in prison for the things he Done
I kinda wish they still could 😂, my neighbor needs to be locked in a cage for a LONG time.
This makes me really sad. My dad was committed to a state hospital in the 1970s... it was awful. We didn't know what to do or whether his treatment was appropriate or not... but it still is disturbing to me to see how we as a society have treated people.
We, as a society? WE seldom know what’s going on. WE wouldn’t automatically approve. Society, as a whole, isn’t like this. What’s terrifying is that these few people get away with it under the guise of being ‘educated intellectuals’.
I am so sorry your family had to go through this. Did your father ever get out of there?
My mom was in facilities like this both before and after I was born. She was in Manteno, Illinois before I was born in 1970 and Chicago Read in northwest Chicago. Both were shut down because of neglect and abuse. Manteno is abandoned now and is supposedly haunted. Read is now a mental health clinic for outpatient care. But when my mom was in these places much of the same things went on. Nothing was ever mentioned how they put everyone together also so there were many sexual abuses and rape both by patients and employees. I remember the whole time my mom was at Read they wouldn't allow me to see her, children not allowed inside. I missed seeing my mom so much and preventing mothers from seeing their children is horrible for them and their kids. I vowed I would never allow my mother to be put in one of these places ever again. She stayed with me my whole life up until she got severe dementia and insisted on going to a nursing home in November 2019. She had a stroke within one month. I went to see her every week until Covid hit. Two years not seeing her and being in that place took its toll on her and she passed away last April 2022. Nursing homes are just like these facilities too. I suffer with lupus, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and asthma which makes my depression and anxiety worse and not to mention the agonizing pain. No doubt if it was 100 years ago I'd be put in one of these places because they didn't even accept most of my diseases as medical conditions back then. Probably would've said its all in my head. I'd say if you are able keep your loved ones with you as long as you can because these places do not help people. Patients rarely get better in these facilities, in fact they decline.
@@debbylou5729 they get away with it because they buy land and build in rural areas away from everyone. Nobody sees or hears or even goes by and the ones running it know that so they can get away with anything they want. Hardly any family come to visit either. Sadly even to this day mental health facilities and nursing homes are still getting away with abuse and neglect. Authorities don't do anything till after something happens and even then some don't.
I'm not sure stuffing thousands of pills a year down someone's throat (i've been getting them for 40 years) will be seen as all that kind and helpful in 50 years (or less).
but of course the 1970s were worse. I'm SURE the decisions your family made were thought to be the best options for your pop at the time. We are still FAR from very effectively treating psych disorders.
Pregnant woman also suffer from Pica its not uncommon. The Kennedy's had a sister they hid away that was permanently damaged from a lobotomy she was locked up in a hospital her entire life. Her name was Rosemary Kennedy. How they thought sticking an ice pick thru your eye would help anything is beyond me.
There are testimonies from people, and their family members that were helped by having a lobotomy done. I'm not sure as to the percentage that faired well, verses dying, or becoming a vegtable (like poor Rosemary). Not the best odds I suppose.
Watching Nurse Rachett put a whole new terrifying clarification on lobotomies. 😰
I think the doctors are more crazy than the patients.
My partner's grandma had ECT and apparently she was really different after. I'm not sure it actually helped her mh issues (I don't actually know what she had...I didn't like to ask) She has dementia now, poor thing :-(
I've read some history and some people benefitted. They just stuck the ice pick in without any regularity or mapping. They think that these cases didn't destroy the entire self
I’m really pleased with how respectful you remained to the crazy things of the past while appropriately laughing at things that anyone would normally laugh at today without coming across rude. Thank you for that.
Thanks!
He was NOT respectful
@@Houndoomgirl77 - Oh boy. I’ve got a feeling that somebody who gets offended by everything just found the channel. 😅
@@TheHistoryUnderground I don't. I actually make really fucking edgy shit, I am getting a doctorate in psych and I'm telling you that your laughs and protective behavior of the ABUSERS of mentally I'll people is fucked up
@@TheHistoryUnderground don't worry about the hate comments everyone copes with emotional impact differently I tend to crack jokes or sing lyrics from songs that fit its a coping mechanism your brain does to help you so you don't break down mentally.
I’m hoping sooner than later we’ll recognize that leaving people with mental illness to wander around the streets, unable to care for themselves, is cruel. It seems in a lot of cases, we’ve gone right back to where we were when Dorothea Dix appealed to congress for funding for state hospitals- housing the mentally ill in jails and on the streets.
💯 agree!
You are so right and there were no mentally ill homeless sleeping on the street back then.
In the 1980s and 90s there was a push to defund and shut down mental institutions because they were deemed cruel and inhumane. Many of the patients were set up in their own appartments and given SSI. Then the people involved patted themselves on the back for a job well done and wondered off to find something else to do. No-one bothered to check up on them. No-one bothered to see if they were even capable of caring for themselves, knew about paying rent, cooking, managing medications, setting up and getting to drs appointments ect. Spoiler alert, a lot of them weren't, that's why they were in the institutions to begin with.
The lucky ones ended up in group homes, but there are only so many beds and there were other problems. Some of the one who sent their clients to the day training center my dad worked at were getting patients direct from the state Institute for the criminally insane. One would become violent and then take bites out of her arm and spit them at whoever tried to calm her down. Another was this sweet little old man, who every so often decided he wanted to murder someone.
It was a whole crap show and has been getting worse and worse ever since.
Very well said
Not from personal observation, but in the media, we see and hear about some homeless people who have a sharp mistrust of the government. They are reluctant to go to kitchens, and very reluctant to go to a shelter. I really just don't know what approach could be used to get these people the care they need. In many cases, the delusional thinking that makes them fearful of the places where they could find help is a factor in their homelessness in the first place.
I'd just like to say thank you. I'm a psychologist with an interest into psychological history. Most people who document Psychiatric hospitals/ institutions dramatise everything even down to the title of their video, but you have not. You hit the nail on the head when you spoke about these treatments were the best/ most up to date of their time. Due to research we have progressed to our best fitting treatments. Yes, in 100 years, people can look back at our treatments (just like we look back at the middle aged treatments) and think we were barbaric for dosing people up on medication (the medicated lobotomy). History is there to be learned from and to be treated with respect- thank you for doing that. The patients in every Psychiatric Hospital are/ were people too.
I am not a medical professional but sometime along the way i heard there were concepts and standards known as medical ethics in the past as well as the present
Didn't think showing the art pieces would make me cry, it's so interesting I feel like there is something connected with mental illnesses and being a creative person. I have been creative my whole life and suffer with depression and anxiety. I know others that are really creative and struggle with mental heath.
When you showed the embroidered story, then the artwork, I got tears in my eyes. That art was extraordinary. It's sad really. I had to start making things or I would get so depressed. I started with paint by numbers when I was a young girl. I have done macrame, embroidery, counted crossstich (you count the squares of the fabric to find the center or wherever you want to start, and the smaller it was, the better I liked it). Diamond painting, paper quilling, cooking and baking, (my baked things are legendary), drawing, painting, jewelry making, Leather work, car upholstery, working on engines, horsehair braiding (with our own horses hair) etc. Always busy with my hands. I'm 68 now. My hands are sore from arthritis but I do things when I can anyway. I understand that the doctors and nurses did their best. The embroidery the girls did for the nurse speaks volumes for her character.
Hi Robin, my name is RuthMartz. Are you from PA?
SOUNDS YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OCD.
BLESSINGS
Wow it sounds that you have accomplished plenty in your life. Most people that are "normal" can count watching TV among their accomplishments and not much else :)
Very impressive list.
That was unexpected. Old treatments were harsh, so glad they have evolved but sorry to say the mental health system is still failing groups of people. This museum reminds me of the Mutter Museum. Thanks for another great video!
Yeah, I was really impressed. Learned a lot.
Psychiatry is an industry of death its history is dark no respect whatsoever for this shady profession.
I LOVE the Mutter museum!!! It is so fascinating!!! Just as this is. I'd love to check this one out as well!!
Shapiro Center in Kankakee, Illinois had a small museum, but they closed it to staff and visitors. Used the excuse of old floors and stairs . So disappointing.
The health system is always going to fail somewhere, but the advancements made in even the last 50 years are a complete marvel.
I’m writing this in order as you talk about things lol
Heavy furniture is also harder or impossible to throw. From 2019-2021 I worked at a modern short term inpatient psychiatric hospital and our patient beds weighed 2,000 lbs each and required 12 large men to move if not taken apart.
On the topic of the mental illness Pica, I had some patients eat dry wall, foam, and even batteries.
The hospital I worked in also still does elective ECT. In modern days they are sedated, restrained to avoid hurting themselves, and constantly monitored by a team of medical professionals and constant vitals. The most common side effect is head ache and/or short term memory issues. Some people see little to no change, but I have had patients who went from completely catatonic (not moving, eating, toileting, etc) from depression to skipping down the hall singing and smiling in under a week. For some people it is literally a miracle cure.
The restraints we used were similar to the leather ones but were a rubbery plastic that is able to be sanitized. There were 3 units at my hospital and a unit I didn’t work on, which was for acute patients, had multiple restraints per day.
The Utica bed is interesting. On my unit we had a quiet room that was nothing but a blank white room with a bed and clouds on the ceiling. We had many patients to request to sleep in there because they liked being secluded as they felt safe in the blank quiet. Also, I live in upstate NY not too far from Utica, NY where this bed was first used. Never knew!
Our halls were covered in art from patients. Running the activity group and creating art with my patients was my favorite thing to do. They were all such interesting and unique people. They all hugged me on my last evening there. I miss them. As someone who’s suffers with mental illness myself I always had a special connection to them because I knew what they felt.
Thank you for sharing this place. I’d love to visit sometime! The brain is a mysterious thing and we still don’t know a lot about it. I’m sure I’m the future people will think where I worked was barbaric!
Craving attention, huh?
@@TimeMariner Actually, Amanda is giving an educated response. I suspect you were a patient at some point. May you find peace.
@@SALAMINIZER13 C'mon Sal. Take your prolixin!
@@TimeMariner no but you sure are
The first therapist I went to when I was depressed suggested the use of ECT. I couldn't go to her again bc of my insurance, but I was horrified. My father had remarried to a nasty woman, and I was depressed bc if it and the fact that I was going to have to find my own place.
I tried to take the tour a few years ago but couldn't finish. I still can't believe how emotional this made me.
Not only were the treatments often barbaric, so were a lot of the reasons that people were sent there. Sometimes people used insane asylums as a way to just get rid of someone. Many individuals in asylums were abused either physically or sexually. A brutal place to be for sure. 🥺
ECT is HORRIFIC even until recently. My mother was severely mentally ill throughout my life. At one of her psychiatric hospital stays when I was 11 was my 1st memory of one of her ECT treatments and it's still painful to think about today. She was brought to the visiting area in a paper outift and totally unaware of her surroundings. She had no idea who I was. Never a word said to prepare my dad or us kids to how she was going to be. Smh. Her eyes looked empty and I remember my little heart breaking....it was so terrible
Oh my gosh I am so sorry that happened to you and your family-❤️ sometimes we just don’t have choice to decide- my heart hurts for you
@amber I agree that ECT is one of the most horrible treatments!! I work in a psych facility and ppl are never the same afterwards. Just a shell of a human. It doesn't even work. I'm so sorry that you had to see and go thru all
Of that.
They still use it today. Albeit, under monitored anesthesia. Obviously, they need patient consent now. Wish insurance would approve more treatments like Ketamine.
THIS was very illuminating. I've dealt with major depression, anxiety and a raft of other crap for my entire life. I've been in hospital a couple of times as a result. I'm an incest survivor who realized in my mid sixties that what my father did was NOT my fault. That seems like a simple thing. But to FEEL it is different than being able to say it!
I've always been able to talk about my problems with mental health. I found that it opened the door for other people to come forward with their problems.
When I was homeless in the 2010s, we used to go out just before curfew, to have the last smoke of the day. We weren't allowed out from 5 pm on. So … a few of us would get in my car and drive around the block. I was just starting to come to grips with my abuse then and one day, I started a conversation in the car. A passenger said that she had been molested, as well. One "lady," who turned out to be my stalker, said she'd rather not have that discussion in front of her. I told her that in MY CAR I could discuss ANYTHING I wanted. Particularly if the others were OK with it!
Being able to get people to open up and start their own dialog was/is so rewarding.
Thank you. I look forward to seeing more of your videos …
Thank you for doing this video. I am a blind person, so all of your commentary and picture descriptions were very very helpful. When I was in college, I went to the East Texas mental hospital in Rusk Texas, and we got to see one of these places in action. Scary stuff. Mental illness is so scary, but all of us face the possibility. As you said, we all must focus on the person for who they are, I am a blind person, but it does not define me. It is only a character trait. Mental illness is the same way. They are people first. They have likes, dislikes, and dreams, just like the rest of us.
My poor grandpa Sam used to be given shock treatments for his depression. He was such a sweet man. I love you grandpa ❤
As a woman who suffers from manic bipolar, depression, anxiety and ptsd this scares me. Just thinking about being tied down or confined to a small space makes my heart race. I would’ve never been released from this hospital. Makes me sick to think about the trauma the patients had to deal with. 😢
Me too! Scares the sh*t out of me. So sad!
My wife has schizophrenia and it's been one of the hardest things I had to overcome.
❤❤❤
Please don't forget what she was also suffering inside .bless you both.
I feel for her
I have Psychotic episodes due to Bipolar. I've had 7 months on section in 5 years since onset of symptoms. My husband found it very hard to seperate the horrific symptoms from the person he loves. His visits every day are the only thing that gave me hope. I always say tell me everything is ok. I know its soooo hard for him. I also developed Multiple Sclerosis. Bless him I don't know how he does it x
I think I’ve somehow missed your meaning. It’s your wife with Schizo Effective Disorder or you?
I worked in psych for over 30 years. You did a great job of talking about past treatment options. Science evolves. Hopefully we will get to a better place for treatment. 1990's was the " decade of the brain"...with new medication tx. However we need more discoveries for better tx. Thank you.
What was your academic background? Were you a psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse? I'm a psychiatrist in the UK.
Reinhold Von Treffencaunbowz, MBBS, PhD
Part of the problem with early psychiatric facilities (and even now) is that they'd be started with the best of intentions and, as you said, doctors and other staff would be doing their utmost to provide the best care they could given the knowledge they had... but then under-funding and overcrowding would eventually overwhelm them. Even the best staff can only deal with so many people before standards start to fall in all areas. Burnout, warehousing, abuse from under-trained staff, etc. affects many institutions to this day.
Not started with the best intentions. Many psychiatrists were Nazis brought over to US after WW2. Project paperclip.
@@moodypet8837 Many of the first psychiatric facilities were opened in the early to mid-1800s, long before the Nazis and Operation Paperclip.
As someone who has been passionate about mental health and mental illness treatment since childhood (my mother is schizophrenic), my first thought when I first saw your face/reaction to having been through the museum was "That's the face of a man who didn't know about the history of mental health before today." My friend, you've only scratched the surface. The world history of neuropsychology and mental health is, much like medicine as a whole, is as horrifying as it is amazing.
It's truly heartbreaking to see some of these "methods" they concocted and thinking of the poor souls they used them on who must have been utterly terrified as they were essentially experimented on.
They are still being experimented on. Just a different method. "Take this pill, take that pill."
I suffer from severe depression from all the losses in my life, starting at age 6 and ending with the loss of my whole large family including my only sibling with the passing of my mom in 2013. I lost 5 family members in 6 months to death when my mom passed. I also suffer from ptsd. NY grandson (whom I raised since birth) is autistic was bullied terribly in the city we lived in. He was told more than once that he shod go home and kill himself. We have since moved 500 miles away and he's blossoming. I'm still not dealing well. Heaven forbid you talk about it. Sad in this day and age.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted. Thanks for sharing that.
Yes, God Bless both of you. You've certainly had more than your share !
As hard as it might be to do at the start but try saying this:
"I want my mom to be happy and I derseve to be happy and I will be from now on."
Say it how many ever times you need to, just over and over whenever you start to think of 'any' lost loved ones, consentrate on YOU & MOM'.
It's no disrespect to any other 'lost' family members, you'll be remembering them lovingly as well == at times to come == but for now just please try to consentrate on YOU & MOM = that blocks out for those moments over heartbreaking memories.
" I WANT MY MOM TO BE HAPPY AND I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY AND
I WILL BE FROM NOW ON."
Say it as many times as you want esp. when sad thoughts might tend to pop up, say it dureing the day, at night, who cares when, it's up to you.
It rederects your thinking about the past so much and gets you into thinking about being able to start moving forward.
Today = is all we have, tomarrow isn't promised to anyone, it's a day that we can choose to be positive, to be happy, to be productive.
'Today' will become 'tomarrow' all too soon, but then another wonderful day will pop up before you'll know it.
If we 'live' in the past, just filled we sadness, then we stay sad, so busy remembering the past that we waste our todays and tomarrows.
I WANT MY MOM TO BE HAPPAY AND I DESERVE TO BE HAPPY AND I WILL BE FROM NOW ON."
Saying that however many times you want can really help if you give it a chance.
I was an Army Drill Sergeant for 7 years and one of my trainees lost his family in a car accident and he was really having a very though time.
I asked him to do what I'm asking you to do, just give it a try and hopefully it can help you too.
It doesn't mean you don't love your other lost ones any less, it's just you deserve to be happy, plain and simple as that, 'they' your lost ones would want you to be happy.
YOU AND YOUR GRANDSON.😙
I hope this little comment helps and God bless. 🤘👻💖
@@ghostcityshelton9378 Im in similar situation, and Im taking note to do this.... Thanks❤️❤️
Im sorry your going thru this. God bless you
i’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety over the past few years, and as of last year it got really bad and i had to stay in a short term psychward. seeing the art that these patients made really made me happy because i remember drawing thing my s from my experience there just to help express how i felt as well as meeting others who did the same. for one patient i met he was so bad at communicating because of his bad anger issues that he found peace in art and was able to express himself to others that way. i just think it’s cool how art and mental health coincides.
I too struggle with severe anxiety,depression, I am bipolar and have cognitive and anger problems, in other words I do not play well with others. From the age of four years old I have always loved to draw, and later paint and now I am a multi media artist, self taught. My calmer times are when I am making art, I am blessed to have a husband who strives to understand my illness and supports me making art.
I've just come out from the mental health hospital for severe depression I'm so lucky not to have been in those eras love the history
I hope you are feeling better. It will get better with time, trust me!
@@sarav5231 thank u for your kind words💜
Hope you are in a better place now than you were previously. I have also spent time in a mental health hospital and it did help me at the time. We are definitely lucky to live in this era. 🙏
I hope you’re doing ok still, six months later
I hope you're doing well!
As a person with depressive anxiety disorder, GAD and PTSD I'm thankful I was born in the last 40 years and not back in these times.
I was so terrified of being committee that I hid my mental illness. It got too much to take and I finally saw a specialist. She was amazing and assured me that ppl don't get committed anymore.
She lied. A minor can always be committed, as can a person with a legal guardian. (At least this was true in the late 1990s.)
I've had the same thoughts! 😮so scary
You can still be admitted even as an adult if they (medical, eats,emts, police and other health personnel) deem you a threat to yourself or others. Commonly know as being chaptered. A judge is ultimately the one that allows you to leave if certain conditions are met. 72 hour hold.
@@cassiesalter5442 It's known as being sectioned around here. No one is really safe from this, considering anyone can accuse you of being mentally ill for any reason and who knows, you may just have an idiot who wants to make a name for themselves and comes after you. You see this kind of thing on Audit the Audit a lot.
Thank you for showing this. My mom, who was a nurse, often talks about people she cared for and ended up developing a loving connection to the patient. She worked in oncology and would often tell us her ‘nursing stories.’
The “ice pick” lobotomy was actually trained to any staff willing to learn. So they didn’t have to be a doctor.
ECG , cold pack, and hydrotherapy are horrific. My mother was treated with all of them back in the day and it’s given her even more trauma. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Even more horrific is it was just back in 1960s-1980s.
Schizophrenia was a trend diagnosis back then and also used for unknown conditions like postpartum
I was hospitalised for a short period back in 2002. Patients on that ward were still routinely receiving ECT 😳
It's insane to do these things to others
@@moodypet8837 How do we learn?
@@SALAMINIZER13 “How do we learn?” Listen to those who suffer from these disorders. Actually listen. Don’t try to discount their experiences just because it’s “all in their head” and don’t try to persuade them that they should feel differently.
I live here. My mom worked here when she was pregnant with me in the 80’s. The State Hospital is still here. Just moved to a new facility. There are tunnels running under the old buildings. The place has a lot of history and horror. Also a graveyard full of unmarked graves. Only numbers on them. Tucked back behind the old hospital. It’s a sad place.
I was wondering why the tombstones he showed had numbers on them. Now I know thanks to your comment. Very sad…
Being Bipolar myself an having PTSD with depression, I really feel an am very greatful to all those who have paved the way before us!!! God Bless you for doing this video it's the first I've watched an now have subscribed to you. I cannot wait to see other informative videos from you.
Thanks!
Dear History Traveller⚰️ I enjoyed this presentation as I do all your talks. I am an R.N. and have worked in a state psych. hospital. Although not perfect it was a far sight better than 100-150 years ago. I have cared for patients who ate odd things. Mostly it was hair! It is most interesting to work with the mentally I’ll. I found though after 1 1/2 years I wanted another area of nursing. I tried Obstetrics and loved it. Did it for 40 years!👼🏻I am now retired. I am now am amateur historian. I am studying the Civil War, U.S. prez and great shipwrecks. I truly love history. I have learned so many things about interesting people. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was given a patent? Only prez. to do so. Thanks for your interesting programs. Look forward to more
I am in awe at the painting toward the end. They are most stunning. I believe that with open minds and hearts we would have more compassion and empathy for the people with mental illness. And the Drs and nurses who worked with them should be given lots of credit for the work they do to help break the stigma. And thank you for opening our eyes to see more clearly.
As a nurse who often interacts with many areas of health, I really enjoyed your presentation. I especially appreciate how you reminded viewers that times/treatments have changed. Treatments are a constantly evolving life form. Thanks for the education
I appreciate your continued efforts to bring us history, and also to continue to conceptualize history within its own timeframe. We lose appreciation for the past when we view it from the lens of the present. It does not justify past wrongs, but it paints an accurate picture of from where we have come.
Thank you. Doing my best :)
@@TheHistoryUnderground creepy shit 😂 😂 😂 😂
So glad we’ve come a long way in treating mental illness. Those paintings were amazing. I have a friend who teaches art therapy and I’ve seen of the work her students do. It’s truly amazing. Thank you for another great video. It was an eye opener.
I used to do that in day programmes at a community centre for people with AOD and mental health issues, a few went onto further art training, as well as classes in gardening, languages, driver's licence theory, crafts, phone photography etc. My people were very cool, my manager not so much.
In some ways, in other's we've dramatically regressed. Asylums played an important role in treatment and were beneficial when used properly.
This is so sad. Thank you for doing this video. These are my favorite kind of videos you do, I wish there were more. Keep up the great work! ❤
I had a great uncle back in 1923, who witnessed his father being killed by a neighbor, his mother died in childbirth, & my grandma & her siblings were placed with relatives, due to my great uncle being 3 years old, & stopped talking, the state of Ohio placed him in an asylum in Columbus, Ohio. When he turned 18, since the state owned him, they would not allow him to leave but for a few days during a month. My grandma would go & get him, though he talked fine, to me as a small child, & smiled at us kids all the time, I had never seen him go coocoo. My grandma had said when she would go to pick him up,( she had to walk long hallways, that always stunk of human feces & anything else you can imagine) she seen many of the mental patients, living in a barn like structure, naked with straw under their bodies, screaming at the top of their lungs, in cages. Here was my great uncle seeing this as a 3 year old child, because he would not talk, they pegged him as retarded. He died in that same asylum, which by the late 80's they tore down.
😢
Veteran FF/EMT here
I victim of abuse and attempted murder as a 6 yr old.
I present like a regular dude but I'm not ok. Never was. Bible promises a resurrection for the Godly inclined and dedicated Christians.
Rest assured my guy. Your uncle Wil be back.
The state hospital near where I live has a farm as well. The patients lived it, as you stated it gave them purpose. When it was taken away from them, the legislature said it was against their civil rights, several of the patients committed suicide. They lost what theyhad to look forward to every day and saw no purpose. The medical staff told the Gov. what would happen but they didn't case or believe them. They (Gov. ) said it was forced labor.
That is so sad. You didn't say what year that was, but I imagine it was fairly recent - as in, in the days of social media -since the decision was probably in response to "public outcry" from individuals far removed from the reality of the situation. I suffered a bout of acute depression (didn't speak unless forced to for 3 months) after I completed all the steps for recovery from a crippling accident. What brought me out of it was chickens: something I could care for, things I had to do every day because they depended on me. A sense of purpose, goal oriented activities with a reward, are critical to our well being.
A model example of how ineffective and incompetent government leaders and other bureaucrats tend to be, and very revealing of their ultimate purpose, which is power and control, never improvement. We watched this behavior at the first stages of the COVID outbreak. They never listen to the professionals nor care about results, because they fancy THEMSELVES as the experts and arbiters of truth, justice, health, morality, etc. They are God. They are the judge. They are the law.
@@epowell4211 Your absolutely right, "Keep your mind busy, lest you wither in despair", is an old quote I often think of, and caring for animals is a well known way of keeping sane. I have recently started feeding a few garden birds and Iv found myself rushing out twice a day minimum to top up their supplies, it keeps me busy and i now have seed on my shopping list! The trouble is we are in summer the easiest time for wild birds, I already need to stock up for winter 🌞😁
And it’s now that way in many states with foster children. We were foster parents for many years and they decided the children can’t do chores (in some states only) and I was appalled. I said “how are they going to gain skills? How do they feel good about themselves and a job well done? How do they know if they might enjoy gardening or sewing or building except they work along with us?” People should not be allowed to make laws unless they have lived it themselves.
Is this WA? I know Lakewood has the remains of a state hospital that was a farm.
Retired paramedic and corrections officer, here… and a lifetime resident of Misery! I had never heard of this museum, or your channel, but I am grateful to the algorithm that brought me here! Will definitely be subscribing… and paying a visit to the museum in person.
(Edit: Came back to watch a second time, and to offer a personal favorite as a potential site for you to visit! For your consideration: The Higgerson School Historic Site and Museum in New Madrid, Missouri. It is part of my family’s history, and I could get you an exclusive with the last teacher - my grandmother. You could even include the pre-civil war era Hunter-Dawson Home, at one end of the same street, and the New Madrid Faultline Museum at the opposite end! Absolutely thrilled history buff here, so happy I found your channel! You do an awesome job on all aspects, absolutely loved it!)
Many do not know that corrections officers deal with the mentally ill far more often than the public realizes. Difficult job. Much respect.
Thank you for doing a video on this amazing museum. It truly is shocking and sobering what happened to loved ones.
And God bless those who have compassion for others. We need more of you!
It’s so sad to know that people were treated worse than animals. Even today the mental illness is such a taboo. Some of the horrible things that happened is so sad. I was placed in a state institution at the age of 15 and stayed more then a year. By my parents. Afterwards there was no follow up treatment. My life is still messed up. All I needed was to be loved and nurtured
I am so sorry Rosie. I pray your life has improved and you're absolutely right all humans really need is to be loved and accepted.
@@taylorpresley4604 thank you for your kind words.. the first few years my life was tough but I went on to get married and divorced x2 I raised 2 wonderful children college graduates and I now have 4 grandchildren. I went to nursing school at 42 after 37 years in the field I retired
One of the saddest things of all is when the mentally ill are not only rejected by society, but are rejected by family members.
Some of the art made by the patients is simply fantastic !!
I agree.
The pathetic thing is that art supplies are now largely treated as though these were weapons. If you find yourself confined to an institution with any art supplies, be prepared to fingerpaint. Or make some lovely collages with non-functional safety scissors. Then, be prepared to hear that this is all the fault of former patients, who abused the privilege of basic art supplies.
@@erinthesystem9608 i found myself in a position where even my shoelaces were considered a weapon . Ive seen soo many different medium being used
Some cleaver ones , some not so much
@@luisdejesus1758 That is true. The American Art Museum in DC has one elaborate structure a prisoner made using only the foil from inside cigarette packs. (I want to say it's modeled off the Palace of Versailles, but that might not be it; either way, it is impressive!)
Thank you, I found this video very interesting. I have Bipolar 2 w/psychotic features, and I am so grateful that all I have to do is take my pills 3 times a day to keep my illness in remission. I feel badly for the thousands of mental patients who were subjected to those treatments.
Boy, I wasn't expecting that! It's interesting yet sad and tragic at how we treated people over the ages because of mental health or simply because they were different.
Or possessed or influenced by Demons
But if you look back even further in history, some of the treatments shown here were better than the treatments used from the years before that 🥺🤔🥺
Still isn't great. I was in for 6 months. It was hell
I am an RN supervisor for a long-term psychiatric facility. I love what I do, and we have come a long way, but still, many changes need to be made! Very interesting video, thank you 😊
Thank you for an empathic insight into the history of the mentally ill and their treatment at this facility.
Mental health reform is so important in advocating for those with mental health conditions. The fact that these institutionalized, psychiatric facilities and their practices were so common as a tx method, not even a century ago, is astonishing. The work that deinstitutionization and community-based mental health services play on mental health reform is a monumental step into giving adequate support for those who need it. And of course, there is still work to be done, but I am glad that facilities like this aren't used as the only pathway into treatment for those with mental health conditions.
Agreed. I can’t imagine how frightened the patients were during their “treatments”. It’s incredibly sad.
Through my line of work I have had many encounters with the truly mentally ill. I’m so glad the treatment options have evolved.
Agreed.
Amen. My son is mentally ill and I can't imagine what would have happened to him. Not to far back.
Do you work in politics?
@@RubberChickenFilms No,…why do you ask?
@@anthonydm2947 the "many encounters with the truly mentally ill" part is probably why...if I had to guess. lol
I have a personality disorder (BPD), and something that is a very big problem and a stigma in the present is how people view personality disorders. It's frequently used as a scare factor in horror content (schizophrenia, DID, bipolar, BPD, etc) and a lot of people call abusers narcissistic without understanding that A) narcissism is an actual disorder (NPD), and B) a personality disorder doesn't make someone abusive. People are abusive because they are just abusive, and we need to stop labeling abusers as psychopathic, unempathetic, and narcissistic. The more we stigmatize personality disorders, the less likely it is that people will get the help that they need. Many of these disorders are caused by childhood trauma so adding onto that trauma isn't helping. People shouldn't have to feel ashamed of their disorder because the public is mislabeling and stigmatizing their disorder. I can say with confidence that it has made recovery really, really hard for me, it's so much harder than it should be because I'm afraid that if people find out about my struggles, they will think that I'm abusive. Nobody should have to be afraid to talk to people because if they open up, these people will be afraid of them or hate them. It sucks so much. It's sadly also very common for actual medical professionals to be dismissive or judging towards those with personality disorders. Speaking from experience, a therapist straight up refused to help me for two years straight but she also wouldn't let me see any other therapist because she failed to understand how a personality disorder will lead to s*icidal behaviors if it's left untreated. I went to the mental hospital for one week and she thought I was fine without any other treatment for my disorder. I landed myself in the mental hospital a second time because of it. These experiences are so common. The public needs to understand that depression and anxiety aren't the only mental disorders out there, and if someone wants to advocate for mental health then they need to include advocating to the more "unconditional", "unpleasant", and "strange" disorders; the ones that are difficult for many people to fully understand.
When you talk about being barbarians, I remember in the 1960, when I was young, I had to go to the dentist. He strapped me into a chair so I could not move, while he was doing his procedure. Never forgot, now going to a dentist frightens me but I tough through it. Things have changed and gotten so much better. I feel for all the mental people who had to go through such an ordeal.
Thank you for what you are doing. I am a mental patient myself and the fact that you share it with compassion for all party involved
My uncle was in a German world war 11 prison for over 5 yrs. After returning to England, he had a LOBOTOMY and lived a pretty peaceful life up until his death... THRU the years I've learned, even in my own family, they can be VERY smart and VERY talented... THANK YOU for sharing this ! ❤ We AAALL need to learn to BE KINDER ! 😘😘😘
I'm glad some of these things are not being done any more. My Aunt had what they call baby blues now. Her husband at the time put her away. While away he adopted out the baby boy she had. They did shock treatment on her. She was never normal, and never stopped looking for her son. My Mom when to the judge, and tried to get him, but at that time my Mom had six kids.
that is horrible!
How tragic. I hope you can find your lost brother. 💖
That is absolutely awful! Your poor aunt… 💔
@@taleandclawrock2606 We did find him, but he had passed away two years earlier in a car accident. They are in heaven now together.
Sounds like he just didn't want the baby and put her away to do it. Horrible.
I grew up in St. Joe, my Mother worked there for many years back in the late 50’s to early 60’s. I remember her telling us stories about that time. It’s a very interesting museum, and there’s a lot to take in. After a certain point it became a juvenile hospital. St. Joe has a lot of history, and lots of great museums. Thanks for sharing!
I also grew up in St.Joe and my Grandma worked there for many years.
The narrator did a great job. He was informative while being very respectful of the subject matter
🙏🏼
We do need to educate people and destigmatize mental illness. I personally suffer with mental illness by the grace of God and a lot of good friends and many years of therapy and a little medication I’m doing well. I spent the last week with a friend who is hospitalized due to a severe manic episode. He is an incredible young man and I am so proud of him for fighting so hard to become stable. Would you criticize somebody for having a heart issue or kidney disease? Of course not. I pray for all out there that are struggling with mental illness. May God bless you and keep you.
I used to work in a state hospital, used to be a county poor farm and insane asylum in Michigan. Some of the "treatments" were certainly a surprise here. Still working in mental health. Thank you for sharing this!
this is so heartbreaking! I have a nephew who suffers from schizophrenia I can't even begin to imagine him being subjected to such horrible experiments just absolutely horrifying! I do understand the doctors were trying however it's still sad
My old college roommate did shock therapy after years of depression after nothing else worked and it worked for him.
My mother had a course of 6 ECT treatments and it turned her life around (and by extension ours too). It sounds barbaric but worked. She went from being unable or unwilling to communicate with catatonic spells, to her old self.
Some patients have success with it when everything else fails.
Thankyou for this video. It shows me alot of what my uncle went through. He had many electrical shock treatments and ice baths. His treatment caused his success in suicide. And he was only in our local asylum due to depression because his wife left him. So sad.
Thank you for your insightful and empathetic narration describing some of these old time methods of dealing with mental illness. I'm glad we have come so much farther. I do think we have a ways to go in educating people about the varied behaviors of those suffering from mental illness to help reduce the fear and stigma and help people have more empathy and understanding. You said it exactly at the very end. Thank you.
I've had ECT. It actually worked quite well for severe depression that was not responding to more typical medications etc. It was painless but I did experience significant short term memory loss at first. Great, informative video♡♡♡
I'm glad you found something that helped, and that you're doing well.
ECT was offered to me for treatment resistant depression, but I didn't have it. I was hoping to be able to return to nursing and was afraid I wouldn't be able to if my memory was compromised. May as well have tried it, as I never was able to go back to work. I'm glad it helped you.
@@jenniferryersejones9876 I'm so sorry. The thing is, to this day, the professionals still have no idea WHY ect works for some people. It's terrifying to put the safety of your BRAIN in the hands of the others who cannot even explain to you how a dangerous procedure works. In my case, my depression was leading to bouts of catatonia and my doctor was afraid that if things continued to worsen, I might not be able to consent to ect....and worsen they did. My depression took over and I became persistantly catatonic. Luckily, my Dr saw this coming and made a "safety plan" w my family giving my consent to undergo ect as a last option. I don't think I EVER EVER would have been able to just make that decision on my own..I mean, it took me years..until I literally was stuck in a helpless, hopeless catatonic situation for this safety plan (a great, obvious plan...lol)to be put into action.
I truly, honestly hope you've found a way out of the darkness of depression. If not. ECT is still an option. Yes...you most likely would have memory loss. In my case, it was temporary, but worth it. No one deserves to suffer the painful life depression creates. ♡♡♡. You deserve to live your best, most joyful life. You once were a nurse. That's awesome. Think of all the patients you've comforted. It makes me think of 2 nurses I was able to remember from my hospital stays. Idk their names but their nurturing care was unforgettable.
Best wishes...♡♡
@@jesselynlee9703 Such wonderful words of encouragement and self-insight! I manage day to day, but a full scale depressive event is only blink away. Your dr. and family were marvelous to have a plan in place for you. I did an 8 week, voluntary stay at a mental health facility in the early 2000's, but got nothing out of it because I hated being away from my home so much and being expected to "share" and emote in front of a bunch of strangers. I am a "difficult communicator"! You've had quite a time of it and I really am so pleased for you that ECT worked. Wishing YOU, the very best!
@@jenniferryersejones9876 severe depression is demon possession
My mom and dad both taught patients at this mental hospital. My mom worked in adult education, my dad occupational therapy like shop and metal working. The stories of patients and their interactions with them was interesting. By the time they taught there, patients were on a variety of medications.
I’m happy I’ve never really suffered from mental illness but I know lots of people that have. These are some torturous items indeed. 😢
This is a perfect example of why we should never destroy history….we learn from it. History is the tool that allows to move forward!✌️
Thank you for this video addition to your work. As a psychiatric nursing educator I was impressed with your efforts to tell the stories in a respectful manner which contributed to destigmatizing mental illness both then and now. Your efforts to put psychiatric treatments into context with the knowledge of the times is also appreciated.
Janene Jeffery, MSN, RN. Clinical Associate Professor
Austin, TX
As I’ve gotten older I have become interested in psychology. My fiancé (who has since passed away) has a DSM and when I found it and read some of I really found a topic that I REALLY got into. From there I came across Byberry Mental Hospital which when that closed many of the patients were moved to Haverford State which was within walking distance of my house. A friend of mine, his back years backed up to the grounds of Haverford and there was one night we were at his house and one of the patients was in his backyard. That gave us a little of a scare but he was used to it. Another thing that I came across during finding all of this information was Dr.Walter Freeman who invented the ice pic lobotomy. There is a documentary on TH-cam called The Lobotomist that I found VERY interesting. It really is unreal how people were and are treated. In Victorian times it was just a place for people to be tortured and forgotten. I also read 10 Day in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly which is an excellent read.
I wish I found this interest when I was younger. I would have done something in the field.
You did a great job with this tour! The Pica patient’s stomach contents was absolutely amazing!!! I wish they had a picture of her before they opened her up. Imagine how bloated her stomach looked! A lot of these things were used in the prisons too. I worked inside a men’s prison that was built at the same time as Alcatraz, so it is really old AND still in use. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair! There are different units (buildings) at the prison I worked in. The building which had extremely mentally I’ll violent offenders was really scary. During training we toured every building.
Oh, the lobotomy part of the museum reminded me of the oldest Kennedy daughter. Her parents had her get a lobotomy. She was a shell of herself after that. Very sad.
Zs
Omg
I remember watching Geraldo Rivera report on Willowbrook, and the mistreatment of the patients there. So horrible, what they had to endure. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this tour! I’m so glad that history is still alive in museums for people to learn from! Break The Cycle! Stop The Shame! Support The Person Within! ✝️🙏🏼☝🏼🇺🇸
It shows that caring and empathy works!
Where I live we have an old Asylum that is being used as a haunted house. Eloise Asylum in Westland, Michigan. It's nice to actually see something good done with an an old Asylum. This is amazing. Thank you. ❤️ Hopefully someone will come to their senses and do the same thing with the one in my area. I have deep family ties to it.
With all the horror that was reality for some, the art was revealing. That humans who were so affected by mental illness could create such beauty under their living experiences is unexplainable! The piece that showed a hand, then revealed a face, literally took my breath! I would love to see more!
I also would love to explore the quilt and the letters of the poor gentleman who stashed the in the tv.
Thank you for this spirit opening video.
Sounds like quite the sadist!
This was so well documented, thank you. At times horrifying but then so beautiful. Your narration was excellent and I loved that you left some “quiet time” for us to make our own conclusions. Subscribed immediately and thank you again for such a fascinating glimpse into the thankfully, past times medical “care”.
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Thank you for this fascinating and respectful tour. My husband suffers with mental illness. The thing you said about people 100 years from now thinking that the heavy medication of today's treatments is barbaric hit home. I truly hope so!
The art of the patients is some of the most beautiful and impressive art I have ever seen.
The story about the guy who was saving packs of cigarettes to trade to buy a new wheelchair for the hospital is just so sweet. Even in his delusion he wanted to help others.
Art (and music therapy) are still used today and are hugely beneficial not just for patients of mental disorders but also for the elderly or developmentally challenged.
My doctor recently recommended ECT for me because of depression & anxiety issues. Due to some other health issues we are running out of medication options. I remain non-committal to the idea because I just can't bring myself to allow someone to shoot electricity through me.
Back in the 1980’s I worked n a mental hospital where ECT was performed. I was amazed at how it helped people, though I can certainly understand your hesitation. I saw it help bring one man out of depression, and an older woman out of a catatonic state. It may be worth examining further, but be sure you do what feels right to you.
Love places that turn into Museums like this. So much can be learned now because of this. I watch several abandoned explorers on YT which often times go into Psyciatric Asylums and it really interests me learning/seeing the way of life back then and what things they used. Same goes for machinery in factories or architecure of the places. I have severe anxiety since High School and learn to live with it very well now without medication and just have to thank people that acknowledge mental illness now and have routes for information and help. Since I didn't grow up with anxiety I at least had something to go off of to get back to. When I got into College I had my wisdom teeth pulled and got Vertigo as a result of the surgery. I have not only lived to deal with anxiety again during that but to live my life with that as well. Many days during that of migraine type experiences of not knowing how I got somewhere and having extreme tension headaches. Now 6 years later, headache free, and back to playing Basketball / mountain biking which I love. Definitely not the prefered route for many to not take medicine and take it slow, but people need to understand it's okay to ask for help, talk about what they are dealing with, and to take time for yourself to work through stuff.
I have also watched several abandoned explorers on YT and most of them are not interested in the patients as people, but as ghosts. They are for entertainment purposes only and teach you nothing.
This was owned by my family! My mother’s maiden name is Glore, my grandfathers uncle owned it.
Youre family is evil then. These places are torture chambers
That's cool for sure
He says it was named after an employee, Glore. It was never owned by somebody named like that. Oops 😜
You must be nuts😉
It was a state-run hospital, Glore was an employee who started displaying artifacts of the hospital, which was the beginning of the museum. Still, you should be proud of your connection.
I worked in a Toronto Canada hospital for over 20 yrs. In the 1990,s we had a seclusion room in Emerg with a regular floor, carpeting on the walls
My mom has had mental health problems all of her life. She was never treated because she would never admit that she had anything. She came from the time when saying you had depression or some such problem was met by people calling you crazy and putting you in the 'crazy house'. She was born in 1947 and, though she's still here, she makes life hard on her family. I feel sorry for her sometimes, but she won't accept help. She only wants things her way and that's it - no compromise. I've always heard that people get mellower the older they get; this is not always true.
Thank you for the presentation of this place. I just found your presentation very kind and open. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I remember in high school taking a tour of a state mental hospital as a science class field trip. It was a trip alright. History comes in all forms. As usual, good job. Keep traveling.
Agreed. Thanks!
This was so interesting to watch! I'm a nurse and my passion is psychiatric care, I live in Raleigh NC and there used to be a state psych hospital called Dorthea Dix that was shut down recently as a new, modern hospital was built to replace it. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this video, I knew a lot of what you discussed already but it was still so interesting! I did chuckle at your mispronunciation of "pica", my hubby loves Pokemon so I could def see how you pronounced it the way you did! Mental health/psychiatric health needs to be talked about more and not so taboo... like Thomas Kirkland said, anyone can get pneumonia or a "bodily disease", just like anyone can develop a psychiatric condition.
Hi. Do you know of a mental facility that was called Southern Pines or something in South Carolina? I know it's a different state but thought it could've hurt to ask.
It is an amazing place. I had a haunting experience there with one of my best friends.
Than you for bringing a human element to these mental hospitals. For far too long channels have seen the people as another entity, lies ghosts and hauntings. Their artwork was impressive, better than some hung in some small galleries
👍🏻
Wow! That art really did speak for itself. Some of it was extremely touching. It is scary to think that some of those treatments were in place in the 60s and early 70s. Excellent video