Journaling 101

 Journaling has many benefits, one of which being that it helps you process your thoughts. I did this all the time during college when I couldn't find a safe place to blurt out my thoughts verbally to a friend or alone. It is best to do this while being honest with yourself. What else are journals good for? Let's find out!

Photo By Committ30

Why journal? There are many reasons. You can release your thoughts and process whatever is most bothering you. It helps you manage anxiety and depression, too. Keep in mind that typing it out and ignoring it is not processing it; to process those thoughts you released you have to leave it all out on the page and reread it to identify bad thought habits and what is most stressful. If you are obsessing over something unhealthy it will come out in your journal. 

How To Journal

To get the most out of the journaling (typing or pen/pencil) you have to do it at least weekly, if not daily. It unclutters your mind and clears the cobwebs out of your thoughts. Let it all fall onto the page. Then read through it. See anything toxic in those words? See any negative self-talk? See any obsessions that need to be kept in check? Actively work on what concerns you about yourself from there. 

Distractions during work happen for me. This internal dialogue that doesn't shut off and takes my mind off my work is best managed by a distraction journal. I put the date, what I remembered I need to do later on, and then move on with my job. This is also ideal for keeping kids busy for the duration of long speeches, services (whether you are in a church or a ceremony), and any time you need kids to be quieter while something is going on. 

Idea journals are for writers or artists that have so many ideas we need to carry journals around with us to sketch or jot them down. Inspiration comes at strange times. The muse shows up when you are at your desk working or already have too many projects. We need the idea to come in contact with paper or phone app before we lose it. Generally, we have a million projects going on and will go down the list of ideas as we finish current projects and need more. That idea journal is great for that. 

An off-shoot of idea journals is observation journals. Most artists base their art on real people. Writers take characters from real life. Lots of people carry journals and sketchbooks for his purpose. For this reason, I count a book of observations as a journal. People watching may seem odd to some humans, but writers and artists do it all the time. 

Another reason people journal is taking notes on games. Gamers who do puzzle games specifically have to or they don't solve the game. I have been creating a walkthrough journal that includes all my Nancy Drew collection in the same notebook. Some gamers created fancy-looking ones with flaps. Others have them in a messy format. It depends on the game and gamer you are looking at. 

Photo By Calendars

Goal and bullet point journals for organizing are common. You can get fancy stamps, pages, stickers, and pens for it at any craft store that carries them. They are adorable. I also find them to be more like a scrapbook. Adorable, but they take time to make them look cute. If you like that sort of thing, more power to you. Goals are good to document. 

Prayer journals are wonderful. You can do this in many ways, including writing your distractions at the top of the page to clear your mind pre-prayer. Basically, you put your requests, God's responses (if any of them came and only if you want), and what you are thankful for. This can double as a gratitude journal. This is also a release of emotion since you can let go of your anxieties and send them God's way. My thought processing journal is in the form of letters to God, so mine is both a prayer and a journaling exercise. 

Reflecting On Your Thoughts

How do you reflect on your thoughts constructively? Let me help. WRITE is an acronym that some therapists suggest. W stands for what you want to write about. R stands for review/reflect. I stands for investigate, which you do through your writing. T stands for time, which means spending at least so many minutes writing. E stands for exiting strategically, in short terms summing up the entry and writing any goals you have and steps to take. 

Why It Isn't Hard

You can do this anywhere. I have a word document I spew my words onto when I can't verbalize in front of someone or it isn't a good time to spew my thoughts to God out loud. It is also an option to record yourself on any device and play it back. Paper and pencil, recording, or word documents are all great options. We all have phones, keep in mind, so you can always have a journal app ready. 

No one else's opinion of your thoughts matters. That journal is your private place to let your thoughts fly and no other humans should see it if you don't volunteer it. Do whatever you want with it when it comes to structuring. It can have no structure at all or be so structured that someone with OCD would be satisfied with every page layout. Put little drawings all over it Sonny Joon style, bullet point, color it in calligraphy, destroy it - whatever you want! 

Photo By My Inner Creative

It doesn't need to be documentation of every detail of your day. It can ignore any aspect of your week and be all about one encounter. Unless you are giving someone a status report on your work progress (and that isn't going to be in a private journal), you don't need to put anything you don't care about in the entry. I am not talking about classwork journals (and believe me, those are a pain when you have a prof. that demands details). Be vague, be so detailed you annoy yourself, be something in between. Be you. 

Your journal can easily be a sketchbook, a poetry book, letters, a song, or any form of art. The arts are therapeutic in nature. The release of emotion through words, especially in creative form, helps anxiety. Your journal doesn't have to be in sentences or grammatically correct. No one is grading your journal. This is not for a class or anyone except you. Let your creativity flow. 

Nosy People

If you think that someone is going to break into your journal, try code. Adopt a system that you can easily use to encode a message, then put the journal into that. Should you need to switch to different codes to hide your safe space, you'd better just put it under a lock and key with different codes every week. Someone who keeps invading your privacy needs to be confronted. I think they'll get your point when you change into code and change lock combinations weekly. At any rate, go talk to this human and tell them to mind their business. 

Journal with combo lock -Photo by Notebook Post

Many people want to be all in your business in this world. Find a safe space to journal if you think you'll be interrupted. Lock yourself in a room, if you want. I know what it's like to have people pry into your life, so you aren't alone out there. When it comes to privacy some humans just don't care and want to make your business theirs. Don't let them stop you from journaling. Just make sure you do it somewhere that they can't get access to it. There are some individuals who just want gossip and you should make sure your writing doesn't end up in their hands, especially if they intend to harm you with it. Like I said in the previous paragraph - use code if you need to. You'd be surprised how many people won't bother to decode it. That being said, still keep it somewhere secret if you know that someone wants your private thoughts for malicious reasons. 

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentID=4552&ContentTypeID=1#:~:text=Now%20it's%20called%20journaling.,and%20improve%20your%20mental%20health.

https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/

https://screening.mhanational.org/content/how-keep-mental-health-journal/

https://thedoctorweighsin.com/can-journaling-improve-your-mental-health/

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2018/07/5-powerful-health-benefits-of-journaling/

Poorhouses and Workhouses

 Christmas Carol mentions poorhouses and workhouses through Scrooge's infamous line about "Are there no workhouses?". Allow me to enlighten you on what those were. 

Photo by gold.ac.uk

When we see the horrified faces of the charity workers responding to Scrooge's comment on workhouses this is because these places were horrible. Scrooge literally told them that the poor can die in these places and he didn't care in different words. I mentioned almshouses and poorhouses in a previous blog about Nursing Homes. 

The earliest laws for dealing with the poor were made in 1601. The Elizabethan Poor Law declared locals had responsibility for the poor, had to provide for them, and were not liable for the poor outside their town. The paupers of the time could be auctioned off and work as payment for having a home. The poorhouses had the goal of transforming the character of their people and check the expenses of pauperism (selling the poor to other people). You still had to work for your care, but it was supposed to deter you from calling outside aid. This system was abused as the poor stayed and left on repeat, not finding work for themselves and taking advantage of the poorhouses.

Scottish Law

The Scottish laws were not what Dickens portrayed, being a separate system from the UK. The poor here were in two categories - deserving or undeserving poor. 1424 law made the point that some could work and didn't, while others couldn't physically work at all. If you were able-bodied and didn't work you could be arrested with two choices. Choice one was to find work within 40 days and choice two was prison. If unable to work, you had a token that showed authorities you were allowed to beg. 

The churches supported the poor who were unable to work. A 1579 act shifted that responsibility straight to the church. This created aid for those who were infirm or elderly. The children of beggars were not free from being taken as slaves (unpaid labor), however, until a boy was 24 and a girl 18. Landowners could take the offspring of beggars and make them work for nothing until those ages. 

Correction houses were poorhouses in Scotland. While these did exist and there was a legal union to England, the Scottish law is separate and resulted in a more functional city. The city was clean and well-built in Glasgow, Scotland in 1707.

Glasgow Asylum - Photo by Pinterest

The workhouse introduced something similar to an asylum when they created a floor for lunatics. This led to the Glasgow Asylum for Lunatics around 1810. After expansion and moving, a second location became a poorhouse. The conditions were meant to discourage all but the most desperate. It was criticized for unsanitary conditions. The institution separated kids, males, and females. If you had family you had to ask there for support first. Disability was a requirement to get in. 

In the Barony parish of Glasgow the able-bodies worked to make firewood and stones. If you didn't work you were put in solitary confinement and given bread and water rations, as opposed to tea and class C diet. 1845 required care for "lunatics" to be had in Barony. They built an asylum for the care of the "lunatics".

Glasgow Poor house -Photo by Glasgow Punter

Govan and Gorbals never established a poorhouse due to lack of funds. When Govan did have a poorhouse the nurses were unpaid and taken from the female inmate population (like most nurses in poorhouses). It was an area of seriously low income. 

The poor had to jump through so many hoops to get into these places and get the help they needed that it was ridiculous. If no family would support you and no poorhouse would give you aid in either cash or living place you were destitute and on the streets. While the idea that the family should be supporting family members is good, not every family did. If they found you had family you might not get into a poorhouse, even if you had asked for support previous to contacting the poorhouse. 

Anyone and Everyone

These places had also become a human garbage dump, meaning that they threw anyone they didn't want out and about in there. This is where elder care started after some families couldn't find space for their family members, which sickens me. Orphaned people ended up in here. Some of the accommodations were less than stellar, with straw beds, terrible food, flies everywhere, and generally awful conditions that made it more like a prison. Living in an almshouse created stigmas, too, and that you could never shake - even if you got out of there. 

The worry over the state of these places made foster homes and orphanages start. They had thrown orphans in the poorhouse and workhouse before this and the unsanitary conditions made some people upset. In 1875 the Children's Act passed, which meant children aged 2 to 16 couldn't be in the workhouse. This adjustment made the almshouse look more like a home for the aged. 

1800s Orphanage - Photo by Pinterest

To be fair to those who did treat the poor of the time with care and tried to make it a home and not a dump, the Beverly Poorhouse in 1900 did fairly well for a time. They kept the house and grounds in order. They tried to keep it sanitary and feed the people they served good food. I don't know if it lasted, but they did okay for a while. 

The closest equivalent we have to this system, a system no longer in place, is a temporary shelter or soup kitchen. The poorhouses were dispersed as the foster system and orphanages took the young kids from the workhouses and the elders that were there went into nursing or assisted living homes. The government aids those of low income today and the stigma still remains. The people who take advantage of the system remain, too, but that is not everyone. There are people who need that help and get it without milking it. 

Worthy of Aid

Whether you were worthy of aid in any form was a big question. It had to do with your character. What it came down to was probably your reputation. If you couldn't work, were a lone woman with a child, or had an illness you saw an overseer who deemed whether you were worthy of help. It was a problem if you were considered immoral or had a mental disorder that made it hard to work. Pillars of the community got aid easily, but the loose woman down the road who ended up with child didn't. If you got any help at all as undeserving poor it was the almshouse. 

Many immigrants ended up here. Poorhouses in America started around the time immigration began. The poorhouses were to deter undeserving poor, so you can imagine that they weren't kept well. Higher classes thought that almshouses, asylums, prisons, and orphanages created character and reformed the poor, which was actually wrong. Reformers eventually made an effort to get fallen women, children, and the mentally ill out of the institution. It left only the elderly there, likely along with some immigrants. The 14th amendment made it impossible to be forced into a poorhouse unless you volunteered to be.

Conclusions

The poorhouses are directly connected with the creation of Asylums, the foster and orphanage system, and nursing homes. My research proves to me that helping the people who truly need it is not as easy as once thought. People will take advantage of the aid systems as long as our society exists. The issue is that the early aid systems turned away those that truly needed it because they were "immoral", "fallen", or mentally ill and physically able. We need to consider this and let it sink in. The system meant to help those who needed serious help turned them away because they judged their character and not their needs. I'm truly disgusted by the fact that those who came to the system for help for real were refused for not being considered worthy -  when the gospel tells us Jesus saved us despite our sin. We weren't worthy of that, but Jesus did it anyway, so let's be kind to those who need our help. Make Charles Dickens proud. 

Sources:

The History of the Poorhouse (primaryresearch.org)

A journey through the old Glasgow workhouses – Source (sourcenews.scot)

The Poorhouse: America’s Forgotten Institution – Brewminate: We're Never Far from Where We Were

Deadpool Storyline Overview

 Deadpool is an immensely popular marvel antihero. If you haven't heard of him by now you live under a rock. While I was thinking about Loki, I figured we could dive into this guy's backstory for a bit. Ready to dive into the world of Deadpool? 

Photo by Hulu

Deadpool is not a hero, but instead an antihero. His antics are quite violent and that disqualifies him from the hero category. That doesn't stop the public from loving him, which is where antiheroes come in. He can't die and has two voices that only he can hear in his head. There is no mental filter for his mouth (though his mouth was sewn shut at some point). He has all the strengths and none of the weaknesses of various marvel X-Men. His actual name is Wade Wilson. 

What you might not know is that Deadpool has cancer. He undergoes a procedure that saves him and leaves him disfigured. His cancer can't die, yet it won't kill him. He can't die at all. He also gets his name from a bar, one that bets on which bar patron will die first. It fits perfectly. His suit is red so no one can see him bleed. Deadpool's history is a complicated one. 

The Most Coherent Info I could Find

First of all, comics that involve X-Men get real complicated real quick. Normal Marvel gets complicated, too, so I may get something wrong. Please correct me if I do. 

For some odd reason, Wade does not remember his childhood accurately. Allegedly his parents still live in Canada and kept his room for him. He didn't remember anything about that. At 17 he was briefly in the military. He became an assassin after that, was nursed to health by Wade and Mercedes Wilson, and ended up killing a bunch of people on a mission instead of just killing his target. He got close with Vanessa Carlyle before that incident. 

After this bit of oddness, he joined the Weapon X program due to getting cancer. A few experiments later and he's cancer-free and super-powered. He can grow back entire body parts. He's an expert marksman and hand-to-hand combatant. He's also bilingual. Much like Loki, his violent antics and unbalanced mind make people want to kill him or generally highly dislike him. He's not loved. 

He escapes hospice and frees other people. He goes back to killing people. He kidnapped Blind Al and failed to kill Cable. Other organizations wanted Wade's healing powers and none could get them. He had a few falling outs with others (an understatement, if you ask me). Thanos also cursed him with immortality after Deadpool fell in love with death (the character, not the concept). He at one point worked for SHIELD, Great Lakes Avengers (until Squirrel Girl kicked him out), the Avengers, and Nick Fury. 

Plot twist, he has a daughter and married Shiklah Queen of the Undead! He was also used by the sleeper agent posing as Captain America to help Hydra take over. After all this stuff had happened, he put a bounty on his own head, challenging the whole marvel universe to kill him. But he's cursed with immortality, so obviously he didn't die. And that is Deadpool for you. 

Ending Thoughts

Comics get complicated. What order do you read Deadpool's story in? I'll give you a link.

Deadpool Order

Truthfully, it might be easier to keep track of the storyline by reading it yourself. Keep in mind that he is rated R as a whole. You don't need to be reading this to young kids. But you knew that, I'm sure. All in all, he's the most out-of-control antihero ever recorded by Marvel.  

Photo by Game Rant

Sources:

https://www.bustle.com/articles/140805-whats-deadpools-origin-story-the-tale-as-unique-as-the-character-himself

https://www.marvel.com/characters/deadpool-wade-wilson/in-comics

Where Nursing Homes Started

If you look at the history of the asylums blog I posted before this, you see that this type of home replaced the asylums when it came to the elderly. How did this start? Let's take a closer look. 

Photo by Flashbak - a 1970s nursing home (if you didn't guess by the colors in the room)

The nursing home may have had some similarities to asylums. I'd say it isn't the same, mostly because the focus is different. The focus isn't to cure, but instead to keep the elders of the community comfortable and somewhat happy. This is where you send grandma and grandpa when you can no longer take care of their needs by yourself. The asylums in comparison were similar, yet the goal of the asylum was recovery. 

You think of medical care when you think of nursing homes. Older asylums look like nursing homes in some cases. I know that nowadays nursing homes are not all homey. It didn't start that way. The homes were literally homes set up for those who needed support in their older age. Hospitals also took on some of the chronic, age-related care. The social security act of 1935 resulted in institutionalized rest homes because it provided funding from the government. Almshouses closed their doors around this time. Government funding was followed by government regulations, which were created to combat any abuses within the system. 1965 revealed medical facility-like nursing homes. 

The Beginning

We still haven't addressed where it all started. Early on the elders of the family were cared for by the family. Urban environments and work schedules, as well as lack of living space, created a demand for sending the older family members elsewhere. One of these places could be an almshouse (poor house or workhouse). The almshouse was one of three places you could send your relatives. Frankly, I find that appalling. Do you know who else ended up in almshouses? The insane, orphans, the poor, prisoners, and the displaced in society. Those with chronic and long-term illnesses could sometimes not be admitted into hospitals, and therefore, ended up here. Conditions were awful in these poor houses. 

Blackwell Island Almshouse -
 photo by Dailymail

Where else can you send your elders? Let's see, how about the board and care homes. This is nothing more than a rented room with basic care and meals. This is closer to the system we have today. Churches could be running these places. Sometimes you required a bit of money and proof of good character to get in, leaving the people of the streets out of the boarding houses. The earliest homes were not licensed, unlike later ones. They began providing more care as residents needed more help. The board and care homes transitioned into skilled nursing homes.

Assisted living was created as people disliked and complained about the medical atmosphere that overtook nursing homes. I can tell you that assisted living is not the same as a nursing home, mostly because the people are far more independent and might just need rehabilitation Even the rooms are fancier. At times, people are transferred to the nursing home section after they have declined. By now people were getting the picture when it came to making money; this is evidenced by the prices of assisted facilities today. There were so many places built and much like asylums this meant a lack of quality and ability to control quality. Some days I wonder if the nursing homes will end up in a similar situation to asylums (though I greatly hope that won't be the case). Lack of staffing is a warning sign that is hard to ignore and it worries me. 

Currently, Covid 19 and nursing homes have been having a hard time. We are more regulated there than in any other public place. While most businesses have said "don't worry about the mask if you're vaccinated", nursing homes and care facilities (heck, anything medical) have not. I do agree with the protection of our older humans. I also understand that abuses can easily happen and the regulations put in place are for the safety of the residents. The system is changing in odd ways due to the pandemic and I can't predict what it will look like two years from now. All I know is that the system itself is shifting.

Conclusions

After researching this and asylums in the same week, I can understand why they would keep an eye on the nursing and rest homes that are here. If unregulated, abuses can easily go unchecked and the whole system could crash into the same obstacles that asylums have. If over-regulated, we all go insane trying to meet impossible standards. It is a tight rope in the truest sense. We've come a long way from almshouses, thankfully, but the system is forever changing. May it change for the better as life evolves and we assess how we treat our elders. 

What truly makes me sad is that rest homes run by churches didn't reach out to the poor as much as they should have. They were too busy asking about character to help, which makes me sad inside. If you have read the previous blog on asylums, you will note that some unfortunate elders were sent to asylums to cut state costs. That is one place you could end up, which was just as bad as the almshouse if you were committed to an over-populated one. Food for thought. Take care of your family elders and make sure they are loved and provided for, especially when they are in a care facility of any kind. Give them the love you'd want in your old age. Check on them to make sure the home is treating them well. Hold the system accountable. That could make all the difference in the world to your family member and future residents.

Sources:

 https://www.nextavenue.org/history-of-nursing-homes/

https://www.americannursinghistory.org/history-nursing-homes-in-america

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-evolution-of-the-nursing-home

Brief History of Asylums

We see asylums as creepy places, and some of them are legitimately haunted. When and why did they start? Let's begin there. 

The Kirkbride Plan  - PBS Learning Media

During the times of at-home treatment for those with mental illness, some could not be around others or be contained. This is where being sent to "a home" started. Private hospitals depended on the money of wealthy families to care for their patients. Most hospitals had a ward for those who needed it. Asylums became something big when the idea of open space and kind treatment began to be considered the way to cure the mentally ill. 

This required secluded places. The Quakers were the first to run with this and had laypeople running it, rather than medical physicians. Most other facilities had physicians as the head of the establishment. Thomas Kirkbride developed a plan and outline for how they should be set up. Almost every place used this system for at least 40 years. Kirkbride's plan called for only 250 patients in a building with a central core and long wings arranged so sunshine and fresh air can get in. Privacy was also provided. 

As the local government got involved, the elderly were put into these places because the government tried to cut costs and could define "senility" as a psychiatric problem. This could save money at almshouses and hospitals. When the state wouldn't provide enough funding and the places soon overcrowded, they faced problems. Many patients didn't respond in this environment, particularly with dementia. 

Nurses' training schools began to be included in these places around the 1860s. This had helped hospitals and staff hoped it would help asylums. For the first time, men were welcomed into the nursing profession, which the asylums welcomed. It is unknown whether this made a difference in medical care. In the 1930s the economy was bad and the war was going on. Funding was cut even more. Staff was hard to find as the war took them into service. 

This was where doctors decided to try new things. Some created separate programs and outpatient programs. New therapies were created, like electroshock therapy, insulin, and psychosurgery. New medications were tried. Around 1950 the age of asylums was slipping away because of nursing homes providing for elderly. New systems and medications were returning the mentally ill to their own homes. Only a few still exist. There are some individuals who wonder whether some humans could use a constant, private environment. 

Were They All Bad Places?

We have the perception that these places shoved people out of the way, abused them, and treated them badly. Did they all do this? No, the nuns and monks cared for people well over the years. Sadly, the asylums that did abuse their power gave horrible impressions of these care facilities. I will, however, note the failures of this system along with the successes. 

Victorian era restraint - Science 
Museum

Restraints had a reason, which was to stop someone from harming themselves, others, or keep them from tearing of clothes or lewd behavior. Critics claimed that the violence required to restrain some patients escalated the violence in the asylum. After a man was found strangled after being strapped to his bed in a straitjacket with no supervision overnight that ended restraints.

Asylums in some places encouraged treating those in them as ordinary people and expecting them to eat dinner, have tea, and behave normally. Using a system of rewards and punishments, they shepherded clients into normalcy. They tailored their treatments to specific conditions. This was the system the Tuke brothers created.

Many others were created with the idea of work and religion being a way to help individuals. The people in these asylums were given chores to do. At Hanwell 320 of the 560 patients were employed. Hanwell was self relient. They earned their keep and kept busy, which meant they didn't just sit around. No restraints were used here, which provided a challenge. Their last resort was isolation and creating less external stimulation so that they could calm down their flustered patients. 

The humane treatment of people led to recovery and the lack of need for asylum. It was the lack of care that led to the opposite since neglect and abuses led to further insanity (literally). Unfortunately, the crowded nature of the buildings led asylum directors to maintain control with less staffing using restraint, padded cells, and drugging patients. They kept building onto places despite the common sense that said to stop, which made life horrible for those living there.

Before you had to have a license to oversee a "madhouse", those within these places were treated like inmates and were ways to make money. The madhouse act (1774) required a license and inspections during the year. For a while, the insane poor were not cared for, but that changed when the lunacy act of 1845 required them to care for the insane in their area.

Sexes generally didn't mix in asylums. It wasn't until the early 20th century that they mixed company, though there were still gendered wards to sleep in. Freedom was not the greatest, depending on where you were. There are people who never left the asylum after being committed. Other people also got to visit towns and work outside the asylum, so it depended greatly on what asylum you were committed to. Many places encouraged recreation within and outside of the building. Those that worked were paid.

Did Gender Matter?

Women, it seems, only came for short periods of time. They came for rest and were sent on their way upon being ready to go back. These women could also be admitted for problematic marriages or giving birth to illegitimate children (rape or not). Post-natal depression was a common reason, too. Unfortunately, they had few opportunities to go outside or play games (which you can blame on victorian ideals). This changed as time passed. The bonding between women and staff was strong. Work was encouraged in the needle room, laundry, and general housekeeping.

Reasons to be committed
- Dangerous Minds

The routine was to rise at 7 am, eat breakfast, work, eat lunch, and have tea. Airing courts were open between meals if you didn't work. Due to staffing issues in the female wings, nurses were known for dosing patients with paraldehyde to make their workload lighter (a jerk move, if you ask me).

The men in asylums before the first world war (for the most part) had none to look after them and were dirt poor. Shell-shocked men were sent here. The male wards weren't large. Escapes were more common in male wards. The schedule was the same, only they worked in kitchens and bakehouses. Men had more discipline in their ward. They had the freedom for sports and being in the musical program. Outdoor work could be allowed and often was. 

Treatments

In the beginning, they just tried to keep them calm and occupied. If needed, they restrained someone. Insulin was used to treat schizophrenia because they thought it was an imbalance issue. This consisted of putting insulin in someone until they went into shock, then reviving them with a sugary dose of tea. It caused amnesia and killed diabetics. Causing seizures via metrazol was also a fad, which ended in broken vertebrae and amnesia. It was ended around the time of ECT.

 What followed was ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and lobotomies. ECT was causing an epileptic fit with electricity. Surprisingly, depressed patients actually felt better after this and the treatment is used on rare occasions. It did cause amnesia and suicidal tendencies, though.

 Lobotomies are when you cut the brain tissue in the frontal lobe of the brain and this ended in the 1950s. It affected personality and brain function. Also, bleeding was used and mercury was used in manic people. Gyrators (tables that turned them upside down) and tranquilizer chairs were also used. 

Removing organs was a "treatment" apparently and had a high mortality rate. At one time, they would induce fever and inject malaria in schizophrenia patients. Many died from this.

The biggest breakthrough was drugs. People still use them to manage their disorders today. The next largest help was talking through issues and occupational therapy (which is where they should have started in the first place!). 

Restraints were used for manic, violent, and suicidal patients. Drugs were not a thing at this point. Straight jackets and fingerless gloves were the most common forms of this. Padded cells were used for violent or self-harming individuals. Less commonly, hydrotherapy (a continuous bath) was used. On the tub was placed a canvas sheet which left only your head sticking out. 1890 was when restraints were limited. Each use was to be recorded and approved by a medical professional.

Hydrotherapy - onedio

Hydrotherapy is the idea that a bath will calm the person. It could be hours, days, or overnight and at any temperature. Warm water was used for insomniacs, cold for manic-depressive psychosis. Water was kept at a constant temperature through fresh water in and old water draining constantly. They wanted a patient to relax or even fall asleep. The person was in a hammock in the tub. This could also be a shower.

Why They Ended

The system was too large to function, in short. On top of that, funding was cut time and again. They also had a lack of staff, due to lack of money. Abuse ensued as a result. Psychiatric advances led to hospitals being able to take care of a lot of the people who need mental help. That eliminated the system itself. Drugs are the main reason for this and can allow mentally ill people to no longer need constant care. The mental health act of 1983 also allowed those that had been sent there to appeal their way out because they now had full rights back. 

Research has proven that those involved in their treatment and in safe environments recover. Some medical staff actually think that the move to have hospitals take on the psych wards was a bad one. There are a few privately run facilities still around, but they are few. Given the abuse that ruined the few good practices in the system, I'd say that nobody will go for the idea again. When adequately staffed and run correctly, people recovered - it was the lack of staff that killed it and the bad methods that they chose to use that put it deep in its grave. They should have called the monks in and had them run everything. The monks wouldn't have done the damage that can never be undone.

Sources:

 https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/nurses-institutions-caring/history-of-psychiatric-hospitals/

https://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/londonasylum/hydrotherapy.html

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/victorian-mental-asylum

https://www.thetimechamber.co.uk/beta/sites/asylums/asylum-history/the-history-of-the-asylum

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/diseases/early.html

https://www.seeker.com/an-illustrated-history-of-the-mental-asylum-1766218599.html

https://www.talkspace.com/blog/history-inhumane-mental-health-treatments/

Real Loki In Mythology

We know of Loki through Marvel movies and streaming services, but what is the actual mythology behind Loki? Is he more than the god of mischief? Let's find out. 

Photo by The Atlantic

Starting with bare-bones basics, Loki is the god of mischief and possibly fire. He is considered neutral (not good or bad). It explains why he'd be an antihero. Odin may not be his father, but he's still considered part of the deities known as Aesir. He is commonly a companion of Thor and Odin. He can change shape and sex at will. His father is indeed a giant. He's also caused the death of several gods in Norse mythology. Loki produced Hel (goddess of death), unlike what the movies seem to tell you. He also (with a female giant) produced Jormungand and Fenrir. He gave birth to Odin's 8-legged horse, too (yes - gave birth). With his wife Sigyn, he has a son (Narfi or Nari) whose name could mean corpse. In all aspects, he defies all society and makes a mess of everything. He often has to fix what he has done himself. His name could possibly mean knot or tangle.

Does he pay for his crimes? Yes, actually. For all his trouble there is a chain of his son's entrails (yes, you heard me) and they tie him down to three rocks in a cave, where poison is dripped onto him by a snake. His wife catches the poison in a bowl by his side, only leaving to dump it on occasion (where he then gets hit briefly by the agonizing poison). This is the explanation for an earthquake. He isn't free until he breaks free at Ragnorak. What is interesting to note is that he wasn't worshiped like the rest of the Norse gods, yet is considered a Norse god. There is no evidence of him being cult followed. I suspect the messes he created in the written tales are why. Who wants to live for the shapeshifter that ultimately acts only for himself and his advantage? Literally no one, apparently. I can understand that. 

Genderfluid? Or not?  

One of the oddest things about Loki is his ability to change sex. Shapeshifting is not a new idea, but genderfluid gets a bit weird. Technically he can just switch sexes because Norse people didn't have that concept (given switching shape doesn't change his identity). He has both given sperm to produce a child and given birth to a child/animal, according to the mythology tales. Has Marvel talked about this? Surprisingly, yes. Tales say that he lived as a woman on earth for 8 years (sex, chores, children, and all) and as a horse, gave birth to a foal. The comics picked up on this quality a decade or so ago and keep using it. It isn't a new thing for Loki. If you are of the opinion that Marvel is just conforming and putting diversity in just to have it, you are incorrect - it was in the mythology! 

Photo By Cosplay Central

The Loki show on Disney + shows fluid on his file, by the way, so look for it. He does have a "Lady Loki" comic version, where he lives as a woman in a body meant for someone else. Given his shapeshifting abilities, it doesn't shock me that he is like this. After all, he does go against all natural or societal boundaries most of the time. Genderfluid is a modern invention, though, so it may not apply because mythology is extremely weird. Read my sources. You'll see what I mean. 

Is he as charming as the Marvel movies say? 

No. He is straight-up awful. According to ballads, he tricked a blind god into killing another god with an arrow. He killed another god publicly at a party just because he wasn't getting attention. He is not the antihero you like. Tom Hiddleston makes him look charming and tame compared to the mythology that says otherwise. To be fair though, mythology is toned down for movies most times due to its weird nature, so that isn't uncommon. Be that as it may, if we showed Loki in all his glory not one fan would like him. 

At the base of his awfulness are his jealousy, constant need for attention, and his notion that he is the center of the universe. He does what benefits him and him only. He sometimes complies to fixing things just to save his own skin. Marvel did get the attitude right, but they gave him charm. He was obnoxious in the poetry ballads and no other gods liked him. He made a party into an insult match after he murdered someone, refused to leave, and then hurled insults at everyone. Does that sound charming to you? 

Has he helped the tribe of gods (aesir) he has chosen allegiance to? Sometimes. He is confusing and switches sides often. He's not reliable. He is sometimes called upon to help with battles and other problems (whether he is fixing his own mistake or not). He tied his manhood to a goat and played tug of war to entertain someone at their request and was barely acknowledged for it. He goes from ally to an enemy at points. By Ragnorak he is fully an enemy. 

Good or bad? 

He is both. Some historians consider the possibility that the tribe of Aesir treated him badly, so he rebelled and picked the side of the enemy. The truth is that he was not consistent in the general sense. He does help the Aesir. He also creates utter chaos that results in death and destruction. His children kill Thor and Odin. He also gets nasty when he wants attention. Again, you could say that the Aesir starved him of recognition, but given he only does stuff for his benefit, that's a tricky situation. He is both. Much like Deadpool (who is also awful in nature), he goes under the antihero label. Read the poetry for yourself and you make the choice. Was he treated badly and shunned for not keeping order or was he evil? It depends on your opinion of the Aesir.

Sources:

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/06/13/yes-loki-is-genderfluid-in-norse-mythology/#:~:text=The%20comic%20establishes%20that%20Loki,male%2C%20he%20uses%20masculine%20pronouns.

 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Loki

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/loki/

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/loki-norse-mythology/

Introvert zones and what you need to know

 Introverts are like phones; we need to be left alone for a bit to recharge. Our time by ourselves is for your safety. How well we function depends entirely on how charged up we have been. In other words, we have introvert zones and should be allowed to sit in them, much like how you set a phone on the counter and do something else. 

Photo by Elle Australia

An introvert zone is a place or general area where an introvert goes to recharge alone. Sometimes other people are let into it and other times they invade without permission. Quite a few people are oblivious to the introvert zone. Perceptive people step into it and step back out if you seem annoyed. Today I'm going to give you the basic rundown of why this is important. 

Why We Need It

Introverted people need a break from socializing and the noise of the outside world a bit more often than extroverts. Extroverts need it too, yes, but not nearly as much. We only have so many safe places that are sacred, such as our office, our apartment, our car, and inside a good book. If we can't function at normal levels due to constant interruption it is not good for us or extrovert-kind. I'd like to love the people around me with all of Jesus' love. When I am socially exhausted I can barely be nice. For the sake of introverts everywhere, I will kindly explain the concept to those who are not overly aware of it. 

When You Are Allowed In

This is an honor. You see, it means we love you or like you enough to keep you around while we recharge. Our closest friends can sit with us while we are plugged into our zones. This is provided that you don't cost us energy. We have to be close for this to happen or be fellow introverts. The exceptions to the rule have to do with friendship and dating. I can sit beside my husband and recharge, but maybe not all my coworkers and friends. Our friends give us energy at different levels, so some friends may not be let into my recharge zones and some friends might be. You are still my friend, regardless of if you can plug in with me.

When You Are Invading

Some people are oblivious to their invasion of our introvert zones. It is highly annoying when they are, whether we love them or not. It is jarring to have your peaceful, quiet place taken from you in one instant, then be unable to lose the person who did it. It is either that or they do it for short times and extremely often. Introverts reading this can probably name names at this point in the paragraph. Most of the time the culprits are blind to our zones. 

Do you think you've invaded our zones at one point or another? Let me give you some signs that you have. Some of us can mask our annoyance, while others can be straight-up rude, but look for these signs anyway. People who lack social cues may not see these signs so easily. 

Photo by funny Brazil

Annoyance is the first sign that they want you to leave. It can be anything from a quickly-masked flash of emotion to body language that says "I was busy". We might act busy. If introverts are not happy to see you, but otherwise you have no quarrel at all, you might have stepped into their alone time and cost them energy. Much like a phone, it can't charge if you use it. This can be subtle and be conveyed via tone, body language that isn't open or toward you, and choice of words. 

Depending on the person, they may be less conversational and shut down any attempts. One word and curt answers may be normal in some people. I will note that specific humans are not generally high on word count. I am talking about those that converse with others often while socializing. Should you step into their personal space and try to talk to them, they might shut it down or let it die quickly. They may even tell you they are busy. I tend to be polite, so it usually looks like me nodding and giving one-word answers (making it a one-sided conversation). My eyes have been known to glaze over at points. This doesn't phase some individuals, for whatever reason, so I let them exhaust their words (if there is no escape).

Work environments allow you to send someone on an errand occasionally. Trying to get the person to leave via sending them on a task is one way we try to gain our peaceful zone back. If another human you are trying to interact with is diverting you to somewhere else (work or home) they may need a moment. Workspaces are sometimes our zones. I know that I like prepping and cleaning the kitchen at my evening job alone. I have let others do errands for me to get them out of my zone (I'll note that they offered to help every time). 

Photo by Meme Generator

Leaving the room is an option we sometimes use because we don't need to kill anyone that day. You can see from Loki's expression here that he wants to because they interrupted his zone. I'm joking about the killing, but I'm somewhat not joking. "Killing" is defined here in this paragraph as "crushing someone's soul with words or actions". Being so overwhelmed that you need a moment to yourself to keep it together is one reason we recharge. People who drop in on us at the wrong time may receive a death glare or sharp words, none of which are what Jesus wants us to do. If we can leave we do. It is for the sake of your feelings that we spare you our true thoughts. Introversion is not a reason to be mean to other humans. 

There are, however, people who will be rude about your invasion. They might crush your soul a bit. I'm so sorry. Not everyone is polite, nor is everyone rude, but sometimes we all let words loose. Being at the end of your sanity rope, being socially exhausted, and being stressed can lead right into an outburst when one invades our zones. There will be humans that don't hold back their fire, as well as those who tried and failed. Nobody is perfect. 

Photo by Log Into Facebook

Reading is an activity usually done solo unless you are teaching or have kids. Please do not waltz over to someone deeply absorbed in a book and ask "What you readin'?". Nothing annoys me more. A book is a zone. I am happy to converse with you about books - just not while I have one open in my hands! Closed book? Sure, say hello. Open book? Stop and walk away. I promise, I love you all, but unless you have something important to say to me leave me in peace. I am within the world of the book I am reading. Important words should be said, but make it quick. Leave out the interruptive small talk. 

Reasons You Are Considered Invasive

You cost energy and don't give enough of it back if we don't want you in our sacred spaces. Those we let in are not costing us our social energy. They are either neutral (equal cost and energy giving) or give us more energy. This doesn't mean we dislike you. We'll go give you quality time after we've been plugged in long enough. You get a better version of us when you let us retreat and come back. 

Photo by 99memes

Why do you cost social energy? I sometimes don't know. It may depend on the day. Introverts get overstimulated by life, thus we need quieter zones for the sake of sanity. Chaos is our worst enemy. You may be too loud at times. Heck, you may just mean too much small talk in one conversation. One reason the people who invade my space rub me the wrong way is that they fill the comfortable silence and/or interrupt my workflow (as I work best alone). I don't hate them; I'd like to make that clear. They just irk me when they step in unaware that I don't want conversation or don't need anything. Also, demanding our attention all the time will weary us into avoiding you until we have the energy to deal with your needs- or we just dodge talking to you at all, should you prove to be constantly exhausting or toxic.

Conclusion

In summary, there are many reasons we may step away from you and come back later. Toxic and constantly-demanding individuals will find we avoid them. We need our zones to process life and plug ourselves in. Our peaceful, sacred places need to be there for us. Whether we disappear into our books, offices, or bedrooms is not important; what is important is that others understand why we do this and allow us the personal space to do so. We'd like to give you positive vibes, so remember this when you think you stumbled into someone's zone. Smile and let them be. They'll be appreciative of you. They may even let you into their zone in the future. 

 

Photo by Any Introvert