American Brevet Oral

American Brevet oral

Intro: in this presentation I will talk about mental illnesses. The history of mental illness goes back as far as written records. Psychiatry got its name as a medical specialty in the early 1800s. There are a lot a books about mental illnesses and mental health in general but a small percentage of them hit the spotlight. In this presentation I will talk about The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; Girl, interrupted by Susanna Kaysen and finally about One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. The Bell Jar follows Esther Greenwood, the protagonist, descent into and return from “madness”. Girl, interrupted is about an eighteen-year-old girl, Susana Kaysen, that goes to McLean Hospital. She tells the stories of the people she encounters while in the hospital. And finally, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest takes place in a mental institution in the Pacific Northwest. The narrator of the novel is Chief Bromden, also known as Chief Broom, a catatonic half-Indian man whom all of the inmates and staff assume is deaf and dumb. The main character though is McMurphy, he challenges authority and therefor the Big Nurse.  He encourages the men on the ward to laugh, learn, and stand up for themselves. Firstly, I will discuss Psychiatric medicine in the 1960’s. Secondly, how society sees mental health and, finally how an individual who suffers from a mental illness adapts or does not adapt to the society around them.  

First sub topic: Psychiatric medicine in the 1960’s

To begin, I'd want to point out that the 1960s were a breakthrough moment in the history of mental medicine. It saw a significant shift in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses. People with mental diseases used to be locked up in insane asylums, receiving only rudimentary care and social assistance. The field of psychiatry was swept by an unprecedented wave of optimism. In the 1960s, electro shock was commonly used. Many psychiatrists, including Dr. Gordon, administered them wrongly with doses that were rarely the effective ones , but only Dr. Nolan in The Bell Jar used them effectively and correctly. This electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was invented in the 1940’s by Ugo Cerletti. Insulin shock was also a common therapy method. It consists of injecting patients with high doses of insulin to produce daily “comas” until the ^patient is hit with a reaction Weight gain is one of the treatment's negative effects (put quote from bell jar. In wards, pills were often given to the patients to make them more calm and easier to control (cuckoos nest). For example the Nurse Rachted does anything to have full control over everybody in the ward: patients and doctors in general. She controls every single emotion and every physical movement she displays. In the books ive read I can also see a huge difference in private and public wards. Public ones are compared to prisons, with inhuman conditions and incorrect use of treatments like electroshock and insulin therapy and lobotomy. There was often only one or two doctors for the whole ward. While in private wards, each patient had a nurse, there wasn’t many people on the ward and they were treated accordingly to their illness. Electroshock and insulin therapy and lobotomy was used very carefully and with the right doses. In private wards patients first had talking therapy which is very helpful contrary to what many people say. ). Many people still viewed mentally ill individuals as harmful during this time period. Patients in psychiatric units were frequently placed in isolation chambers to avoid incidents. (example from cuckoo’s nest and girl interrupted)

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