The New York Times and Insanity

I recently searched The New York Times' archives back to 1851 because I wanted to find any patterns in our society's attitudes about mental illness. I discovered that melancholia was the initial term used for depression in the English language. Melancholia was first used in The Times on April 29, 1868. Interestingly, the word depression appeared in The Times for the first time 17 years earlier on October 18, 1851, describing the state of mind of an accused man in a murder trial. This was the first mention of a mental illness ever in The NY Times. The murder trial has amazingly strong ties to discussions going on today about the link between mental illness and crime.

We as a society have been fascinated and horrified with mental illness and the possibility of crime since at least 1851. The stigma associated with mental illness is very old. This stigma has been ingrained into our society, and so it is no wonder it still exists. The phenomenon of people with mental illness leaving institutions and getting back into society is only a few decades old. Stigma associated with mental illness is still here, but as treatments get better and people get more educated and enlightened, there will be less of it.

The second article ever printed in The Times about "mental illness" was in 1869. It concerned a book about the famous author and man of letters, Lord Byron. Lord Byron probably suffered from bipolar disorder. The biography was written by the Countess Guiccoli, who was a companion and admirer of Lord Byron. Byron was as much a luminary then as the mathematical legend John Nash is in our times. We still recognize greatness in some with mental illness. Undoubtedly, Byron is an example of the saying, "There is a fine line between genius and insanity."

In The Times, I read about attempts by scientists and doctors since 1907 to relieve the suffering of people with mental illness. In 1907, a surgeon discovered a treatment that supposedly relieved the disease of dementia praecox or schizophrenia. The New York Times writer hailed it as a "cure" for schizophrenia. The idea of operating on the brain started around 1890, but this article in 1907 is a record of an intermediate phase in the treatment for schizophrenia. This type of psychosurgery developed into lobotomies. So, looking back at what we now deem to be barbarous treatment of the mentally ill, we see this pronouncement of a "cure" for schizophrenia as hype.

It seems some of the words we use to describe mental illness have changed. The treatments we have today are generally more humane, but some things regarding mental illness haven't changed much since The Times started printing. Concerning mental illness and crime, stigma seems to be as much a part of our society today as it was more than 150 years ago. However, as opposed to 1851, many people today dare to inform society of their battles with mental illness. Indeed, New York City Voices would not exist if there weren't people who dared to express themselves. With their courage, they have lessened stigma a bit. Finally, insanity and genius seem to be linked to an extent.

To summarize, some things have not changed much, but some things have changed for the better. Let's hope we can keep the positive momentum going.