1

Mental Health
Weekly

Bridging the Gap

2
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCD was first acknowledged in the 17th century in a scientific medical study, The
Anatomy of Melancholy. It wasn't untill the 19th century when more modern ideas of
OCD began to emerge in France & Germany
In terms of when OCD usually appears in its patients is usually before the age of 25
and usually during childhood. When looking for symptoms and signs in patients, the
main factor is obsessive thoughts that are senseless and intrusive. Mainly, the thoughts
have to do with contamination, germs and/or orderliness and perfection of their
surroundings.

~ CAUSES & TREATMENTS ~

When it comes to the causes of OCD, it usually has to do with a chemical imbalance
of the brain, or can also be due to a traumatic event in one's childhood. OCD is a fairly
easy mental illness to treat, and it focuses on reversing the intrusive thoughts that plague
the patient's mind. To truly treat this mental illness, the doctor must really know the
patient and how far they can and should go in pushing the patient outside of their comfort
zone.

Bipolar Disorder ( Manic Depression)

Bipolar Disorder was undiscovered for many centuries untill research was published in a
1851 article by french philosopher Jean-Pierre Falret. Despite this, it can be seen that as
early as the 1st century, greek philosophers began to document the symptoms associated
with this disorder.
The many symptoms that are associated with Bipolar disorder include major mood
swings, elevated emotions in otherwise normal situations, hyperactivity, and also a major
lack of concentration. The only concern when it comes to trying to look at your
symptoms to diagnose yourself is that the level of severity of the symptoms depends on
the level of Bipolar Disorder you have.
Despite the obvious, that a chemical imbalance of the brain is responsible for the
development of Bipolar disorder, it can also be attributed to a hormonal imbalance, as
well as more external factors that we can experience later in life such as physical/mental
abuse, drug abuse and a significant traumatic moment.
Although Bipolar disorder cannot be cured, drugs such as lithium, acid can curb and tone
down the symptoms associated with this mental disorder.

4
Anxiety

In our society, anxiety is the most common mental disorder experienced by humankind.
The first time that anxiety was addressed and discussed by our society was in 1978 in
White Plains, New York, although the actual name anxiety had not been given to it yet.
It was not untill 1980 that the disease was officially recognized and given the name that
we associate with it today.
People who suffer from anxiety generally experience heightened stress in low stress
situations, racing thoughts, as well as excessive worrying. Dealing with anxiety can
greatly complicate a persons daily life and hinder them from functioning at the highest
level possible.
Unlike many other mental illnesses, anxiety is usually caused by a preexisting medical
condition, ranging from panic disorder, kidney disease and diabetes. This is just a short
list, there are many others that could be associated with causing anxiety. Besides medical
conditions, it can also be attributed to side effects of medications that a person may be
taking.
To continue to showcase the uniqueness of this disorder, it is the only illness that can
be cured without drugs or medical treatment. To get your anxiety under control, you can
do so by avoiding alcohol, avoiding stressful situations, and getting enough exercise.

5
HISTORY
The history of mental health is a crazy and
almost unimaginable story that traces back to
ancient greek philosophers who studied the
inner workings of the mind. Oddly enough,
mental illness is not very easy to track simply
due to the fact that it depends on the time and
culture/beliefs that are present at that specific
moment in history.
If able to be cut down into specific categories,
over the centuries, mental illness has been attributed to factors such as supernatural,
somatogenic, and psychogenic. More so than all the others, the supernatural is the most
common reason that has explained mental illness over our time on this planet.

FAMOUS SANITARIUMS/ASYLUMS
Bedlam
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center

TREATMENTS
Unlike today with the hospital, back in olden times, the church played the largest role in
supposedly curing the mentally ill. The main form of treatment that the church used was
exorcism, in which the priest would attempt to coax the demon out of the persons soul. They did
this mainly by torturing the patient and putting them into as much pain as possible, in hopes of
making the host so uncomfortable for the demon that it would leave. Other very odd treatments
that the church partook in include shaving a cross into the patient's head, drinking ice-cold water,
and exposing the patient to as much mass as possible.