History of psychiatric institutions

The rise of the lunatic asylum and its gradual transformation into, and eventual replacement by, the modern psychiatric hospital, explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry. While there were earlier institutions that housed the 'insane', the arrival at the answer of institutionalisation as the correct solution to the problem of madness, was very much an event of the nineteenth century.

To illustrate this with one regional example, in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century there were, perhaps, a few thousand "lunatics" housed in a variety of disparate institutions but by the beginning of the twentieth century that figure had grown to about 100,000. That this growth should coincide with the growth of alienism, now known as psychiatry, as a medical specialism is not coincidental.

Medieval era

In the Islamic world, the Bimaristans were described by European travelers, who wrote on their wonder at the care and kindness shown to lunatics. In 872, Ahmad ibn Tulun built a hospital in Cairo that provided care to the insane which included music therapy. Nonetheless, medical historian Roy Porter cautions against idealising the role of hospitals generally in medieval Islam stating that "They were a drop in the ocean for the vast population that they had to serve, and their true function lay in highlighting ideals of compassion and bringing together the activities of the medical profession."

Lunatic

Lunatic is an informal term referring to a person who is considered mentally ill, dangerous, foolish or unpredictable, conditions once attributed to lunacy. The term may be considered insulting in serious contexts in modern times, but is now more likely to be used in friendly jest. The word derives from lunaticus meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck". The term was once commonly used in law.

History

The term "lunatic" derives from the Latin word lunaticus, which originally referred mainly to epilepsy and madness, as diseases caused by the moon. By the fourth and fifth centuries astrologers were commonly using the term to refer to neurological and psychiatric diseases. Philosophers such as Aristotle and Pliny the Elder argued that the full moon induced insane individuals with bipolar disorder by providing light during nights which would otherwise have been dark, and affecting susceptible individuals through the well-known route of sleep deprivation. Until at least 1700 it was also a common belief that the moon influenced fevers, rheumatism, episodes of epilepsy and other diseases.

Lunatic (novel)

Lunatic is the fifth book in the Lost Books series, written by Ted Dekker, and the first book in the series written with Kaci Hill. It is set at the beginning of White, from Dekker's Circle Trilogy. It, along with the sixth book, Elyon, was released on June 2, 2009.

Summary

Lunatic picks up where Chaos left off. Johnis, Silvie, and Darsal have returned from the other earth, having claimed all of the lost books of history only to lose them again. More importantly, the world that they have returned to has changed completely. Their home is overrun by their enemies and the healing water of Elyon no longer heals.

Much as the first four books of the series make a set, Lunatic and Elyon are a whole story of their own. One difference is that in the first four books, each had an individual story that would be followed through to completion before leaving the main story to be continued. Lunatic and Elyon are one story, completely incomplete without each other.

Lunatic (Kongos album)

Lunatic is the second studio album by South African rock band Kongos. It was released independently by Tokoloshe on December 28, 2012. After signing with Epic Records, they re-released the album on February 25, 2014.

Track listing

This is a re-release track listing. Original is different:

Personnel

Adapted from the Lunatic liner notes.

Charts

Year-end charts

References