3,181 Comments Posted by Lynne

The terms "insane" and "crazy" don't mean much any more. Did most of the people who were sent to live here have "problems in living"? Yes. Were they all mentally ill? No. What per cent were? Hard to say, as the definition of mental illness fluctuates with the culture. It is culture (that's us - you and me) that determines which behaviors are "too far out" and who "may" walk the streets freely. In some eras the culture dictates some pretty tight rules; in other eras almost "anything goes."

Thick glass or plexiglas and mesh screen are your usual giveaways. They need to withstand the violence of having furniture and bodies tossed against them if the person is not in control of themself at the time.

RefLib,

"Cold pack" is not the same as "continuous water hydrotherapy" in a tub. Cold pack consisted of very cold, wet sheets wrapped around a person which they were kept in for hours at a time; usually either until they warmed the sheets up or until they quieted down. The theory behind the technique was to cool the person off because they were thought to be overly agitated, and the coldness of the sheets was to "counteract" the believed hotness of the blood, which supposedly caused the agitation.

The tubs were not cold; the sheets were cold. Both "therapies" had the same name, so people get confused and think the tubs were cold. If anyone ever used an ice cold tub full of water to immerse a patient they were not doing it to be therapeutic. If you are at all familiar with how much temperature variation a body can stand, you will quickly figure out that to put someone in a tub full of very cold water for any longer than a short period of time is fatal. If you killed off too many of your patients, even back in the "dark ages" of 50 years ago, you would quickly be investigated.

Regardless, the idea was not to torture people; there was a true belief that this technique helped people. The stats weren't that bad when there were NO other interventions that worked. And yes, you had nuts and sadists and torturers back then, just like you do now, who, when they were underfunded and stressed out, did pretty nasty things to people. Sort of like what that jerk who lives down the street from us does to his or her child and yet most of us still won't "get involved" for fear of a lawsuit or a violent confrontation.

In hindsight it is easy to be critical of what happened 50 to 75 years ago when there were no ways of treating people other than locking them up. The way we got to the few treatments we have today was by trying out new ideas and keeping the ones that worked. That is called science. Cures and interventions don't spontaneously generate. Hypotheses are formulated, techniques are tried, and if they don't work, you go back to the drawing board. I can't be horribly critical of people for what they didn't know at the time, but at least they were trying something.

I would, but I am popping back and forth to the computer as I do my monthly data analysis for the place I work. Coming here is my reinforcer for working for a predetermined amount of time. :-)

Bill,

This is a "full body immersion tank" that allows better access to the person by the therapist:

http://www.whitehallmf...hpshop&Itemid=67

Tonio, my dear child, I wasn't going to tell anyone this, and up till now it has been a secret from most people, known only to a few entrusted souls. However, given your phobia of germs, which we in the field feel the need to complicate by renaming "misophobia," I strongly believe you should know the following information. After Mr. Motts has photographed a facility, in many cases not only does he follow the policy of "don't take it - don't break it," on a few occasions he has felt the call of public duty so strongly that he has actually done a little cleaning before he has left.

Mr. Motts, my friend, I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me some day, but I thought our little Antonio needed to know this important information to aid with his "germ issues" - I believe his very mental health may hang on this some day. :-(

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f152/docarelle/Domesticity.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f152/docarelle/DustingThemCurtains.jpg

That is a completely understandable reaction. Old phones that have ever been on the ground, even once, frighten the hell out of me as well.

[Gratefully takes bottle of Tylenol, places next to cumezekyame, tilts back stiff drink and 8 Tylenols]

"Rain-check"! Pretty funny! 8`-)

WAWAWAWAWAWAWAWA!!!!!!! 8`-)

Thanks, Tony. Hand it to me along with a cumezekyama, please, that's a dear child. :-)

Bill - bravo! 8`-)

Don't worry, Truckie. Sometimes when you wake up after a nice long rest you'll find the mistakes weren't half as bad as you thought. :-)

Either or both. :-)

Actually, it looks a LOT more like a shocked little old lady! You're right!