The history of psychology includes various diagnoses that were created not to aid in understanding mental health, but rather to exert control and reinforce societal norms. These labels often reflected the prejudices of their time, as illustrated by the philosophies of George Santayana, who emphasized the importance of historical memory in advancing human progress.
Among the most notorious is the concept of drapetomania, invented by American psychiatrist Samuel Cartwright in 1851. He described it as the supposed desire of enslaved Africans to escape from their masters, a notion rooted in a racially biased worldview. Cartwright”s other creation, dysesthesia aethiopica, was used to label black slaves who exhibited apathy towards work, with punishment being the prescribed “treatment.”
Another fabricated disorder, dromomania, emerged in 1887 when French doctor Philippe Tissié categorized individuals with an uncontrollable urge to travel as mentally ill. This diagnosis was never widely accepted in the medical community and serves as a reminder of how social phenomena can be mischaracterized as psychological disorders.
The term moral insanity was coined by British psychiatrist James C. Prichard in 1835 to describe individuals who acted without moral restraint, despite retaining their rational faculties. This label often targeted women who defied Victorian norms, reflecting societal biases rather than genuine medical conditions.
One of the earliest diagnoses attributed to women, hysteria, has roots tracing back to ancient Egypt, but the term itself is derived from the Greek word for uterus. Historically, it was used to pathologize behaviors that deviated from accepted gender roles. By the 20th century, as medical understanding evolved, hysteria was removed from official psychiatric texts due to its misogynistic implications.
Emerging in the 1970s, the post-abortion syndrome was a label used by conservative groups to portray abortion as a psychological threat. The medical community has largely rejected this diagnosis due to a lack of scientific evidence.
Monomania, a term introduced by Jean-Étienne Esquirol in the early 19th century, referred to an obsessive fixation on a single idea. It eventually fell out of favor, highlighting the ambiguity surrounding many psychological diagnoses.
Introduced by George Miller Beard in 1869, neurasthenia was described as an American condition affecting wealthy white men, linked to the pressures of modern life. This diagnosis, while prevalent, was often used to justify racist and misogynistic attitudes.
The term nostalgia was coined in 1688 by Swiss physician Johannes Hofer, originally describing a form of melancholy experienced by those far from home. Its meaning shifted dramatically following World War I.
In 1985, Richard Gardner proposed the parental alienation syndrome, which has been criticized for its potential misuse in legal contexts to discredit children”s testimonies against abusive parents.
Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I) in 1952. This designation reflected prevailing homophobic attitudes, and it was not removed until 1973, marking a significant shift in psychiatric understanding.
As we reflect on these historical inaccuracies, it becomes clear that many of these diagnoses were less about mental health and more about enforcing societal norms and control. The words of Nelson Mandela resonate deeply in the context of this historical examination.
