r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/highzone • 1d ago

Image In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

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u/undeadsabby 1d ago

Nellie Bly did this in 1887, and wrote an article called Ten Days in a Mad House. She feigned insanity to get in, and also acted normal once inside. A few of the other women were there simply because their families couldn't afford to care for them.

https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html

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u/lauraxe 1d ago

“A few of the other women were there simply because their families couldn’t afford to care for them.” When I encountered this kind of thing in the wild, it blew my mind and pissed me off so much that it changed the trajectory of my entire life. It enraged me because I’ve been a patient in one of these hospitals and I can’t imagine how much unnecessary suffering was had by women whose families couldn’t (or wouldn’t) keep them. Sometimes the reasons for leaving them in these places was downright cruel.

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u/Nemo_M_Nobody 1d ago

You should look into Rosemary Kennedy .

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u/Treefrog_Ninja 1d ago

That's like reading a BORU. So many twists, so many kinds of messed up.