Hippocrates’ ideas did not withstand later scientific scrutiny.īut his basic premise, that human behavior is markedly affected by bodily structures or substances and that odd behavior is produced by some kind of physical imbalance or even damage, did foreshadow aspects of contemporary thought.Ĭhristian monasteries, through their missionary and educational work, replaced physicians as healers and as authorities on mental disorders. Through his teachings, the phenomena associated with mental disorders became more clearly the province of physicians rather than priests. Hippocrates believed that normal brain functioning depended on a delicate balance among four humors, or fluids of the body. Hippocrates classified mental disorders into three categories: He thought that disordered thinking and behavior were indications of some kind of brain pathology. In the fifth century B.C, Hippocrates separated medicine from religion, magic, and superstition. The belief that odd behavior was caused by possession led to treating it by exorcism.Įxorcism: the ritualistic casting out of evil spirits. Many believed that disturbed behavior reflected the displeasure of the gods or possessions by demons.ĭemonology: the doctrine that an evil being or spirit can dwell within a person and control his or her mind and body. Internal mechanisms involved in mental disorders are largely unknownĭysfunction: interrelated in the behavior, psychology and biology.īefore the age of scientific inquiry, all good and bead manifestations of power beyond human control were regarded as supernatural.īehavior seemingly outside individual control was also ascribed as supernatural causes.Has a value judgment and a objective component (dysfunction).Ī judgment that a behavior is harmful requires some standard, and this standard is likely to depend on social norms and values.ĭysfunctions are said to occur when an internal mechanism is unable to perform its natural function, the function that it evolved to perform. It is too broad and too narrow.Īnd social norms vary across cultures and ethnic groups. This is not enough for defining mental disorder. In the realm of behaviors, social norms are widely held standards that people use consciously or intuitively to make judgments about where behaviors are situated on such scales as good-bad, right-wrong, justified-unjustified, and acceptable-unacceptable.īehavior that violates social norms might be classified as disordered. Other characteristics that might, in some circumstances, be considered disabilities, do not fall within the domain of psychopathology. Impairment in some important area of life.ĭisability alone cannot be used to define mental disorder. Mental disorder is usually determined based on the presence of several characteristics at one time.Ī person’s behavior may be classified as disordered if it causes him or her great distress.īut not all mental disorders cause distress.Īnd not all behavior that causes distress is disordered. No single characteristic can fully define the concept.
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