[Insanity, life crises and longing for a "real life". On the discussion of deviant behavior and mental disorders in psychiatry of the 19th and 20th century].

Abstract

On insanity, life crises and the longing for a "right life". A contribution to the discussion on the deviant behavior and mental disorders in the psychiatry of the 19th and 20th centuries using the example of patient stories. History of psychiatry, understood as social and cultural history, provides the framework for this micro-historical article. Using the example of three patients treated in Wuerttemberg or Baden psychiatric asylums between 1875 and 1912, the article focuses on the critical analysis of types of asylums, their practices of admissions, therapies and power relations between patients and staff. Ways of thinking and acting, subjective experiences and emotions are exemplified by patient records, personal testimonials and contemporary publications again by patients and staff. The article examines options of patients to influence the institutional daily asylum routine against the background of its complexity and dynamics. Borders, manipulations, malingering and querulous paranoia are at stake here. Furthermore, the article reflects various forms of social interaction with the power regulating therapeutic and disciplinary aspects against the backdrop of the "canons of rules" of the asylum as well as the contemporary political and legal framework.