Mental Health Disorders

Mental health disorders, during the Greek and Roman period, were called things like melancholia, dementia, hysteria, and hallucinations ("Abnormal Psychology," 2010). These ailments were thought to be caused by some physical problem. Hippocrates believed that these brain pathologies were causes by humors. These humors were yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm ("Abnormal Psychology," 2010). Plato and Aristotle were also of the opinion that mental disturbances came from inside the individual and not outside forces such as evil spirits ("Abnormal Psychology," 2010).

As the presence of Christian priests grew across Europe during the Middle Ages mental health disorders were viewed as the conflict between good and evil ("Abnormal Psychology," 2010). During this...