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Instructions for how Hydropathy was done

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There is another treatment common in the 1800's known as Hydropathy which means "The Water Cure". It was often used as a treatment for "female hysteria" as shown in the figure above. It was a popular treatment because it could be done at home or at a water cure spa for the wealthier people. People believed that it was a way to treat whole body problems by using hot or cold water and submerging or pouring the water, then water invaded the cracks in the body and removed any impurities causing mental illnesses.

While we know today that hydropathy is not an effective treatment for mental illnesses, it can be used today for physical treatments. For example, using a treadmill under water is often a treatment used for people recovering from orthopedic injuries. This shows that while they people were incorrect about what hydropathy could treat, they had the right idea in seeing that it was effective in some way.

Source: Resor, C. (2021, March 25). Hydropathy: Pseudoscience in the 19th Century. Teaching with Themes. https://teachingwiththemes.com/index.php/2021/03/25/hydropathy-pseudoscience-in-the-19th-century/

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An image of a patient in a mental hospital in 1838

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Mental hospitals were known as "Insane Asylums" in the 1800s and patients were treated horrifically. As shown in the image above, restraints were used on patients almost constantly. Owners and workers at these facilities believed that mental illnesses could not be cured so patients were treated as basically inmates in the facility. The use of restraints was brutal and violent but at the time, it was believed that they were a necessary treatment tool.

Slowly, towards the mid 1800's, people began to realize that mental illnesses could be treated and eventually managed, so inpatient facilities adjusted to better help those in the facility. They used less violent treatments and owners of facilities tried to treat patients more like sick people, rather than violent criminals. Today, inpatient facilities are still improving to learn how to best treat patients and it is important to understand how we got to the mental health facilities we have today.

Source: National Museum of Science and Industry. (2018, June 13). A Victorian Mental Asylum. Science Museum; Science Museum. https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/victorian-mental-asylum

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A tool inserted into the vagina and used for a hysterectomy

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In the late 1800's, female patients in mental health facilities were often diagnosed with a condition called "female hysteria." Today, we know that they were likely exhibiting symptoms of various mental illnesses. However, as a treatment for this, women were subjected to brutal surgeries such as hysterectomies, removal of tubes and ovaries, and other operations on their reproductive organs and surrounding areas.

This tool above was used for hysterectomies on women in mental hospitals. They believed that female reproductive organs were connected to emotional regulation and that if they became damaged by disease or age, this caused the mental issues. They eventually realized this was a brutal treatment and it was discontinued. It is still important to discuss this treatment to understand how the field of mental health treatment has evolved and hop we can continue to learn from past mistakes.

Citation: UWO Public History students 2008-2009: (2009). Restoring Perspective: Life & Treatment at London’s Asylum. Www.lib.uwo.ca. https://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/londonasylum/hysteria.html

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An image of The Rotating Chair Treatment

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For patients exhibiting from mania or aggression, a treatment used was putting them in the chair above, spinning them around very quickly until they had vertigo or passed out. They believed that the vertigo would calm the patients down. The researchers said that it would reduce "brain congestion" that was causing their behavior (Rodriguez).

The use of this treatment was interesting because it showed that people understood that there was a physical component to mental illness and there were a lot of options available to treat mental illnesses and slowly, the researchers were starting to understand that.

Sources: RCPE. (2024). Mental Health: The Douche, the Swing and the Chair. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/mental-health-douche-swing-and-chair

Rodriguez, R. (2017, November 22). Psychiatric Treatments Throughout History | Delray Beach Psychiatrist. Dr. Raul J. Rodriguez. https://www.delraybeachpsychiatrist.com/humorous-horrific-psychiatric-treatments-history/

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The bloodletting tools of a barber surgeon from the 19th century

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Bloodletting was an ancient treatment used into the 20th century. Originally, physicians did it to release "humors" from the body that were causing negative emotions. Later, they believed that it removed infectious chemicals that were causing mental illnesses. Towards the mid 1800s, Dr. Pliny Earl released a paper stating that it was shown to be ineffective but the treatment was still used for many years after his paper (Garrick 2010).

I included this in the exhibit because it is important to understand that even back in 1800s people were still doing important work in changing the treatment of mentally ill patients to allow them to get better. They were doing experiments and looking at ancient treatments to try to improve them for people then.

Sources: Wikipedia Contributors. (2025, March 28). Bloodletting. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting#Use_through_the_19th_century

Garrick, M. L. (2010). Bloodletting 1854. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(12), 1435–1436. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10081126

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It is impossible to talk about the evolution of mental health treatment without talking about the great work of Dorothea Dix. She worked for many years to change how patients in mental hospitals were treated. She would tour facilities and see the terrible treatment patients were receiving. She worked with politicians and tried to pass legislation to establish a national asylum but was unsuccessful.

She is a great docent for the exhibit because she has an intimate understanding of mental health treatment and facilities. She will be able to guide people through the exhibit while also adding information about the artifacts.

Source: Norwood, A. (2017). Dorothea Dix. National Women’s History Museum; National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dorothea-dix

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How ECT is done today, an image from a research study.

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Electroconvulsive therapy is a treatment used today to help patients with severe depression, mania, schizophrenia, or other severe mental illnesses. It is the use of an electrical current sent through the brain to induce a seizure and can rapidly improve mental condition. ECT is an evolution of shock therapy, done in a more effective and humane way. Shock therapy was an old treatment used for mentally ill people but was brutal because it was done while patients were awake.

I included this image because it is important to acknowledge where treatments came from and see how they evolved to be more ethically sound. It shows how treatments have evolved to protect patients and ensure that no one is suffering while trying to get better.

Source: Monaco, K. (2022, June 23). Electroconvulsive Therapy Linked to Manic Episode Response. Www.medpagetoday.com. https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/bipolardisorder/99401