Roots of Mental Health Awareness

       Hi and welcome back to my blog! For my second post I'm going to be focusing on the historical background of Mental Health Awareness and examining how it's roots have led up to the present day.  We will take a look at when the issue first began to surface, and we'll cover some major people and organizations that arose along the way.

       First referred to as "mental hygiene", mental health didn't start to become a major topic of discussion until the mid 19th century, which marks the beginning of the mental hygiene movement.  One very influential individual of this time was Dorothea Dix, a key player in the movement.  She dedicated her adult life to helping those with mental illnesses and spoke out against the way they were being neglected.  During this time, the majority of people simply gave up on those with mental health issues.  Even most mental health facilities were understaffed and unfit to meet the needs of their patients.  It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that circumstances began to gradually improve.  Some of the strides that the mental hygiene movement made during this time included the establishment of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and the first outpatient mental health clinic in the US.  

       One of the nations most prominent nonprofit organizations dedicated to the welfare of the mentally ill is Mental Health America. This association was founded by Clifford W. Beers in 1909, who also was the founder of the previously mentioned National Committee for Mental Hygiene.  Beers used to be a psych patient and consequently witness firsthand all of the horrible conditions mentally ill patients are under.  This poor conditions included lack of necessary care and wrongful treatment of the patients.  Throughout history this organization has fought for the rights if the mentally ill, opened the eyes of both state and federal governments to a number of large issues, and helped found several other associations with the same desires to benefit mental health.  Mental Health America continues to be a very strong advocate dedicated to the betterment of mental health awareness.

       Another more recent, local organization that is also a major supporter of Mental Health Awareness is the Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago.  Also a nonprofit and volunteer-oriented, this organization was founded in 1957 and focuses providing help for mental patients and educating the community on mental illnesses.  

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/our-history#.Uxe82PldVVI

http://www.mentalhealthchicago.org/about