According to the World Health Organization, approx 280 million people Depression in and all over the world A billion Have any form of mental health problem.
People living in the traditional world also had mental health problems. So, how did they treat them?
As we’ll see, a few of his insights into mental health are still relevant today, although we may query a few of his methods.
1. Our frame of mind is significant.
Mental health problems resembling depression were familiar to people in the traditional world. Homer, the poet famous for the Iliad and Odyssey lived across the eighth century BC, apparently died After recovering from depression.
As early because the late fifth century BC, ancient Greek physicians recognized that our health depends partially on the state of our thoughts.
Epidemiology, a medical text written around 400BC, by an anonymous doctor wrote That our habits of thought (in addition to our lifestyle, clothing and housing, physical activity and sex) are the first determinants of our health.
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2. Mental health problems could make us sick.
Also writing in Epidemics, an anonymous doctor described One of his patients, Parmeniscus, whose mental condition had deteriorated to the purpose where he became delirious, and eventually became speechless. He was bedridden for 14 days before he recovered. We aren’t told how.
Later the famous Dr Gallon of Pergamum (129-216AD) observed That people often change into in poor health due to a foul mental state:
'Thinking' may in some cases be certainly one of the causes of health or disease, for many who get offended at every thing and change into confused, anxious and fearful for the slightest reason are sometimes for a similar reason. fall sick and face difficult times. control these diseases.
Galen also described a few of his patients who struggled with their mental health, a few of whom became seriously in poor health and died. A man Money was lost:
He developed a fever which stayed with him for a very long time. In his sleep he reproached himself for his loss, lamented and anxious until he awoke. While awake, he was overcome with grief. He then became ill-tempered and developed mental fever. At last he fell right into a delusion which was evident from what he said, and remained in that state until he died.
3. Mental illness is preventable and treatable.
In the traditional world, people had many various ways to forestall or treat mental illness.
Aristippus, a philosopher living within the fifth century BC, used to advise people. To focus on the present To avoid mental stress:
Focus your mind on the day, and indeed on the a part of the day wherein one is doing or pondering. Only the current is ours, neither the past nor the long run. The former has ceased to exist, and it’s uncertain whether the latter will exist.
The philosopher Cleneas, who lived within the 4th century BC, said that each time he felt himself getting offended, he would play music to his song to calm himself down.
Doctors had their very own ways of coping with mental health problems. Many Recommended Patients change their lifestyle to accommodate their mental state. He advised people to take up recent types of exercise, eat a special food regimen, take sea voyages, take heed to lectures by philosophers, play games (resembling drafts/checkers) and do mental exercises resembling the fashionable crossword or sudoku. .
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For example, the physician Caelius Aurelianus (fifth century AD) thought Patients affected by dementia may profit from a varied food regimen, including fruit and lightweight alcohol.
Doctors also advised people to take herbal medicines. For example, herbs Hellebore Given to people affected by paranoia. However, ancient physicians recognized that hellebore may very well be dangerous because it sometimes produced toxic convulsions, which killed patients.
Other doctors, resembling Galen, had a rather different view. He believed that mental problems were brought on by a thought that had taken over the mind. He believed that if this thought is faraway from the mind, mental problems could be cured. wrote:
An individual whose disease is brought on by thought is treated only by the unsuitable thought that has occupied his mind and never by food and drinks. [clothing, housing]bathing, walking and other such (activities).
Gallon thought It was higher to divert the thoughts of my patients from these false thoughts and put recent thoughts and feelings into their minds:
I put the fear of losing money, political intrigue, poisoning or other such things into the hearts of others to divert their thoughts to those things. […] There must be anger at any injustice in others, love of enmity, and desire to defeat others in everyone's interest.
4. Dealing with mental health requires effort.
In general, the ancients believed that maintaining a healthy mental state requires effort. If we were anxious or offended or frustrated, we wanted to do something that may bring us the alternative of those feelings.
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They thought this may very well be achieved by doing a little activity that directly confronted the emotions we were experiencing.
For example, Caelius Aurelianus said People with depression should do activities that make them laugh and be completely satisfied, resembling going to the theater to see a comedy.
However, the ancients didn’t imagine that any single activity was enough to make our mental state healthy. The necessary thing was to make a wholesale change in our lifestyle and pondering.
When it involves experiencing mental health issues, we clearly have lots in common with our ancient ancestors. Much of what he said still sounds as relevant because it did 2,000 years ago, even when we use different methods and medicines today.