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Mental Health Legislation as a form of Social Control

December 12, 2007 in Mental Illness, Passing Connection To Work by Mr Ian | 20 comments

The 1800 Criminal Lunatics Act was one of the first pieces of legislation to directly address “the Safe Custody of Insane Persons Charged with Offenses”. Previously, Blackstone’s commentary on common law in the 18th Century mental health held that

“the absolute madmen… are not answerable for their actions, they should not be permitted the liberty of acting unless under proper control, and in particular, they should not be suffered to go loose, to the terror of the king’s subjects. It was the doctrine of our ancient law, that persons deprived of their reason might be confined till they recovered their senses, without waiting for the forms of commission or other special authority from the crown; and now by the vagrant acts, a method is chalked out for imprisoning, chaining, and sending them to their proper homes.”

In a previous posting I did threaten to write about mental health legislation as a form of social control.

So, how far have we come in the last 200+ years to progress the needs of those “absolute madmen”?

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Psychiatric Nurses Are Not Proper Nurses - Discuss

October 22, 2005 in General, Outright Waffle, Passing Connection To Work by Mental Nurse | 7 comments

I often have to explain to other people that I am not a proper nurse. For example:

Friend: Hello, Mental. You’re a nurse aren’t you ?

Mental: Hello. Yes, I’ve been a nurse for many years, what stupid question do you have now ?

Friend: Not So Friendly: No need to be like that !

Mental: Just get on with it !

Friend: Huffy: Well I have a headache and the sniffles. I also have a budgie. My teeth are turning yellow and my breath smells. What is wrong with me ?

Mental: You have bird flu and you smoke !

Actually that does not normally happen. Normally:

Huffy: I am suffering from [random list of physical symptoms]

Mental: I’m not a proper nurse, if you have anything that concerns you just go to your GP.

Most of my idiot friends do not speak to me any more.

Our tutors at college spent years trying to tell us we were all proper nurses, well apart from the midwives. At the time I accepted this. I wanted to be a proper nurse.

Now I am not so sure.

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