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\nWhat Really Went On Behind Closed Doors At Victorian Asylums\n

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\n\nPublisher:\n\nGrunge\n\n\n
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\nGiven the fact that the world still isn't great with the treatment of mental illness today, it's no surprise that the so-called \"insane asylums\" of the Victorian era were pretty horrible. It's almost impossible to imagine just what went...\nGiven the fact that the world still isn't great with the treatment of mental illness today, it's no surprise that the so-called \"insane asylums\" of the Victorian era were pretty horrible. It's almost impossible to imagine just what went on behind closed doors, but here's what really happened, according to those who were there. In 1887, journalist Nellie Bly went undercover to spend ten days in an asylum on Blackwell's Island in New York. While she was there, she witnessed and was subjected to some incredibly inhumane treatment. But she noticed something: others who were suffering the same treatment had no more cause to be committed than she did. She wrote not just of the ice baths and the physical abuse, but of the women who were there for no real reason. One woman she met had been committed only because she spoke French, and the little English she did know wasn't enough to allow her to tell anyone her story. Others were there simply because their families could no longer care for them or wanted them, and some were there just because they had no other place to go. Bly wrote that doctors conducting interviews tended to assume something was mentally wrong with the women they were talking to, so they questioned them in such a way that would ultimately confirm the diagnosis. In preparation for her stint in the asylum, Bly had practiced acting in a way that would keep her committed. Once there, though, she found there was no need for it. She wrote, \"Yet strange to say, the more sanely I talked and acted the crazier I was thought to be.\" Watch the video to find out more about what really went on behind closed doors at Victorian asylums.' #Asylums #VictorianEra Struggles of the perfectly sane | 0:17 Bread and water | 1:20 Writing letters never delivered | 2:40 Alcohol for everything | 3:41 Sitting, sitting, and more sitting | 4:57 Restraints as a solution to nearly everything | 5:47 Chloroform deaths and broken ribs | 6:38 Asylum attendants gone bad | 7:35 Electroshock therapy | 8:37 It wasn't all bad | 10:02\n
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Resource Details

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Grade
9th - 11th
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All Subjects
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Media Type
Instructional Videos
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Source:
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Date
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2019
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Audiences
For Teacher Use
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