Vishaka R N (1114350)

Historical Views of Abnormal Behaviour

Behavior that deviates from what is commonly accepted by a group or society is known as abnormal behaviour. (The Free Dictionary by Farlex) Abnormal behaviour is not new to us; it has been present for aeons and men have been attempting to cure this behaviour for just the same amount of time. Here, we will look at the historical views on abnormal behaviour.

We have all heard of the ‘trephining’ that the cave men used to do to cure abnormal behaviour. But the earliest recorded treatment came from Egyptian papyri of the 16^th century. The Edwin Smith Papyrus contains detailed description of surgical operations, including that of the brain. The brain was also recognised as the site of mental functions. They used surgical as well as incantations to cure these behaviours. Even with this entire discovery, the ancient people still believe that abnormal behaviour was due to possession, generally of an evil spirit. The cure for this type of ailment was generally prayer, magic, incantations, etc.

It was Hippocrates, the Greek, who denied the role of the spirits in the illness of men. He believed that mental diseases had natural causes just like other diseases did. He also said that the brain was the central organ for intellectual activity and any mental illness was related to the brain pathology. He also gave importance to heredity and showed the damages injuries to the head could to do motor and sensory skills. He divided disorders into three categories and gave detailed descriptions of each through his daily observations of his patients. These descriptions have turned out to be almost accurate.

Maher and Maher pointed out that there were only four paradigms for explaining personality disorders. They derived from the four elements (earth, water, air and fire) the four essential fluids of the body: blood, bile, phlegm and black bile. The concentration of these fluids in individuals was used to judge the temperament of the same. Hippocrates also believed dreams to be important in understanding the patient’s personality.

Plato was next to study disturbed individuals who had committed crimes. Plato made provisions for the mentally disturbed to be taken care of in the community. Plato emphasized on the individual differences in intellect and took into account socio cultural influences in shaping behaviour and thinking. (Plato) The treatment Plato built up was some sort of hospital where sessions would be taken something like psychotherapy. Yet, even Plato thought that there was divine intervention at work with these people.

Galen, one of the most influential Greek physicians of the later ages, was a follower of the Hippocratic tradition. He brought in the scientific approach by dividing the causes of psychological disorders into physical and mental categories. He even added injuries to head, alcohol, shock, and fear for the causes.

By the middles ages, mental hospitals were set up in places. They were first established in Baghdad and then followed in Damascus and Aleppo. In these hospitals the mentally disturbed were humanely treated. Scientific inquiry into abnormal behaviour was limited in Europe and the treatment of such individuals was through rituals rather than understanding the person’s condition.

Towards the end of this period, supernatural explanations for abnormal behaviour started to gain popularity. During this period, there occurred ‘mass madness’ where there was widespread occurrence of what apparently was hysteria. There were several cases of this mass madness like ‘tarantism’ where there was uncontrollable urges to dance. This urge was attributed to the bite of a tarantula.

The care of the mentally challenged was largely left to the clergy in the middle ages. Some of them practiced Exorcisms on the mentally bereaved. Over time, distinction between the mentally challenged and spiritually possessed became blurred, thus connecting witchcraft with mental illness. But this relationship is highly debated and there is difficulty reaching a conclusion. But this is the path of abnormal behaviour from the early civilizations to the middle ages.