The diagnoses given to patients during Kew's first fifty years were the common ailments found in most lunatic asylums of the pre-Kraepelin era
Delusional insanity
Dementia
Epilepsy
General paralysis/paresis of the insane
Idiocy
Inebriation
Melancholia
Puerperal mania
Some of these terms are still in use today, however they may now have different meanings.
For example, from examining the notes on some of Kew's early "dementia" patients, it can be deduced that many were most likely suffering from what we now term severe depression, catatonia or schizophrenia.
The diagnoses given to patients during Kew's first fifty years were the common ailments found in most lunatic asylums of the pre-Kraepelin era
Delusional insanity
Dementia
Epilepsy
General paralysis/paresis of the insane
Idiocy
Inebriation
Melancholia
Puerperal mania
Some of these terms are still in use today, however they may now have different meanings. For example, from examining the notes on some of Kew's early "dementia" patients, it can be deduced that many were most likely suffering from what we now term severe depression, catatonia or schizophrenia.
Kew Asylum