Mental health

Major Arthur Hurst
Medical diseases of war
1940, 2nd ed.

Soon after the beginning of WWI, military doctors noticed that soldiers started to show neurological symptoms like dizziness, tremor, tinnitus, amnesia, weakness and headache. In most of these cases, there was no obvious physical injury. This condition became known as ‘shellshock’ or ‘war neurosis’. Some doctors believed it was caused by hidden brain injuries or carbon monoxide poisoning, while others accused the affected soldiers of malingering.

Adapted from a Presentation to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

In mythology the moon relates not just to madness, but to love. And that’s very convenient from my perspective, because I strongly believe that a deficit of love is what causes so-called madness, and the cure for which, therefore, is love.

On the 8^th June 1809, the foundation stone of the then-named Royal Edinburgh Asylum was laid in the hospital grounds at Morningside, marking a turning point in the history of mental illness in Edinburgh. On this stone were engraved the words Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano, a quote from Juvenal meaning that one ought to pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.

The word melancholy literally means an excess of choler, or black bile.

The Humours

Its origins lie within the humoural system, which dates back to at least the time of Ancient Greece and remained a significant influence on medical practice until the 1800s.

The humoural system is quite complex, as the diagram below demonstrates. Although the principles were changed and adapted over time, essentially, according to this idea, there were four humours in the body: yellow bile, black bile (also known as choler), phlegm and blood.

Fear of false imprisonment was a growing concern in eighteenth century Britain.  Private madhouses, where the inmates were paying customers, were particularly susceptible because there was little oversight of their practices. Although legislation to regulate asylums was introduced in 1774 its powers were limited and flagrant abuses of the system continued.

These illustrations, take from a study by Belgian physician Joseph Guislain, show examples of some of the new methods of mental health treatment developed in the 1800s.

John Moncrief, The poor man's physician (1731)

This book, authored by church minister John Moncrief, is a compilation of the recipes of numerous physicians and folk-healers.

These sketches and letters are the work of William Blacklock, created after he was admitted to the Crichton asylum in Dumfries. Blacklock was born in London in 1816 and, when he was two years old, his family relocated to Cumberland.

The original source of the phrase ‘bruised reeds’ is Biblical, referring to the kindness of Jesus…

 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
      nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
 a bruised reed he will not break,
      and a smouldering wick he will not quench

Our free exhibition 'Moonstruck: 500 years of mental health' opened to the public on Friday 14 June and will run until Spring 2020.

This exhibition explores the changing understanding of mental health over the last 500 years, using our unique collection of illustrations, books and objects.