Would Dorothea Dix be proud?
I am currently a junior in high school, which of course means I'm reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in English. As I'm winding my way through the mind of Chief Bromden, I am forced to wonder if things have changed much over the past fifty or so years since the book was published.
Dorothea Dix crusaded for those who could never stick up for themselves. Before she came along, the insane were locked up in attics, starved and beaten to "get the devils out," and crammed into jails with common criminals just to get them out of the way. By the time Cuckoo's Nest was published, America liked to think that we were kind to our mentally ill citizens. Boy, weren't we proven wrong.
To this day, Electroshock Therapy is considered a valid, if rare, treatment of depression in this country, even though it is banned in most of the European Union. And speaking of depression, many people who suffer from this disease will never be treated for it due to the social stigma attached. In fact, many mental illnesses go undiagnosed because of society. Anybody who even sees a therapist regularly is likely to be labeled a loony or a nut, even if they have no real illness.
So tell me: would Dorothea Dix be proud?
Electroshock therapy is oftentimes a treatment that many people opt for themselves. While I myself find it barbaric and tortuous, there are many who have found it to work for them. Go figure *shrugs*. But hey, if it isn't being forced on an individual then I don't necessarily disagree with it's use.
You'll find that stigmas attached to things such as mental illness will often vary based on one's locality and culture. For example, in the South, mental health is not something one commonly talks about. Having to go to a therapist, or even choosing to, is essentially admitting to there being something "wrong" with you. Taking care of one's mental health is not something that's really talked about, whereas in certain regions in the North, it's a much more acceptable sort of practice.
You know what they say - Location, location, location! ;)