Oh Dear God,
I am doomed!
Found to be lacking
in mental capacity.
Deemed unfit to live
in human society.
Accused of heinous
deeds,
irresponsbilities
unforgiveable.
A scourge to be
banished
ne’er to breathe
freedom
I stand accused.
Asthma
Hysteria
Laziness
Novel reading
Medicine to prevent conception
Overaction of the mind
Uterine derangement
Women trouble
Superstition
Grief
Spinal irritation
Gathering in the head
Periodical fits
Dissolute habits
Overtaxing mental powers
Hereditary predisposition
Dropsy
Time
of
Life
F
E
M
A
L
E
D
I
S
E
A
S
E
Discard me!
Useless trash!
Unworthy trollop!
I shrivel
in the corner
dying a slow death
day by day
a
hundred
years
till
one day
I breathe no more.
At last
I am free!
Dedicated to all the lost souls who lived in such harsh times.
This is a list of reasons for admission to a lunatic asylum between 1864 – 1889
© Raili Tanska
Steps for Peace
Respect others. Help others. Love others. These are the keys that unlock our soul. Anthony Douglas Williams
This is a slightly reworked post from Feb 2016
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Can this terrible femaleness affliction be treated? It sounds horrendous.
Looking at that list for entry into the nuthouse I’m pleased to see that I qualify on a great number of grounds!
I think I could tick off quite a lot too! We could be cell mates 🙂
With such ease men rid themselves of troublesome women. And, in my country, are trying to do it again.
Oh no, we can’t go full circle !
That was horrendous reading 😱 so sad 😞
You’re right Elaine. It was a very sad time in history in so many ways. Things have changed a lot since then. Or perhaps the prejudices and ways of dealing with them have just transformed to other means of ‘punishment’.
It sounds like more of the population would have/should have been in lunatic asylums than out of them!
You’re right! The sad thing is there were some people living in the mental health hospital I worked in many years ago, who were originally incarcerated for life (there is no other word for it) for such outrageous things like being an unwed mother
wow-that is harsh and if it weren’t true-funny
Black humour. It’s always interesting to look back in history to see the changes in values and beliefs. I wonder what a modern equivalent would be like?
Not wanting to go there in my head! ha!
Don’t blame you 🙂
I think I could add a couple more this time through! LOL My personal favorite on the list at the moment is Political Excitement — though I think it should be hysteria!
We could probably make our own list these days. It could be an interesting exercise !
Isn’t that awful! I’ve seen this circulated in Facebook by some historical authors, and although I love reading and watching stories based in historical era, I don’t think I would have wanted to live then. Not as a woman anyway.
It was not an easy time for many back then. So much prejudice and injustice with a huge divide between the haves and have nots.
Eek!!! Salvation Army… politics… laziness… how random.
I’d have been locked up ages ago, Raili… I’m very good at one of these three…
Novel reading???
Me too! And several others as well. Just as well the criteria for being deemed lunatic has changed – or has it?!
Thinking about it, Raili, everything we do dips into that lunatic realm at some point. For me especially! 😀
Oh yes, right there with you, Tom !
There are four men in white coats knocking on my door. They say that they’ve read my blog, and I’ve been overtaxing my mental powers. What should I do? 😉
Run, as fast as you can !!! I’ll leave the door open….
I’m on my w…… unhand me at once, you devils… arghhhh…
Oh NO!!!!! I hope you managed to escape !
I’m hiding under the workbench in TRH’s man cave…
Coffee, two sugars…
please 🙂
coooming……
Wow – scary stuff. Poor ancestors!
Yes, indeed !
https://theglobalaussie.com/blog/liebster-award-2017/ I’ve submitted your name for the Liebster Award. Enjoy
Gosh, thank goodness, we are more “enlightened” nowadays. If I had lived in the 19th century I would have been put there for always reading novels etc. It is such a sad indictment of mankind.
I’d be right there with you !