How were the mentally ill treated in the 1800s?

Psychiatric Medications Drugs had been used in treating the mentally ill as far back as the mid-1800s. Their purpose then was to sedate patients to keep overcrowded asylums more manageable, a kind of chemical restraint to replace the physical restraints of earlier years.Click to see full answer. In this way, how were the mentally ill treated in the past? Isolation and Asylums Isolation was the preferred treatment for mental illness beginning in medieval times, so it’s no surprise that insane asylums became widespread by the 17th century. Overcrowding and poor sanitation were serious issues in asylums, which led to movements to improve care quality and awareness.Furthermore, how were the mentally ill treated in the 1900s? Many asylums were crowded, hopeless places by the early 1900s, increasingly separated from the outside world. These isolated institutions became testing grounds for controversial and dangerous treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and lobotomy. Regarding this, how were the mentally ill treated in the 1930s? The use of certain treatments for mental illness changed with every medical advance. Although hydrotherapy, metrazol convulsion, and insulin shock therapy were popular in the 1930s, these methods gave way to psychotherapy in the 1940s. By the 1950s, doctors favored artificial fever therapy and electroshock therapy.What were asylums like in the 1800s?In the 1800s, asylums were an institution where the mentally ill were held. These facilities witnessed much ineffective and cruel treatment of those who were hospitalized within them. In both Europe and America, these facilities were in need of reform.