The treatment of mental illnesses has very distant origins. In 400 BC, Hippocrates, who was a Greek physician, treated mental illnesses as illnesses resulting from physiological disorders and not as displeasure with the gods or demonic possession (“Chronology: Treatments for,”). Greek medical writers found treatments such as silence, occupation, and the use of a drug called purgative hellebore ("Chronology: Treatments for",). During these periods, family members cared for the mentally ill ("Timeline: Treatments for", ). In the Middle Ages, Europeans let the mentally ill go free, as long as they were not dangerous ("Timeline: Treatments for",). The mentally ill were also seen as demon-possessed witches ("Timeline: Treatments for") for,"). In 1407, the first institution for mental illnesses was created in Valencia, Spain ("Timeline: Treatments for"). In the 1600s, Europeans began to isolate the mentally ill, where they were kept alongside the handicapped and delinquents ("Timeline: Treatments for," ). Mentally ill people who were considered insane were treated cruelly, were often chained to the walls and kept away in dungeons ("Chronology: Treatments for",). the use of chains, took patients out of dungeons, gave them sunny rooms, and let them roam the floor for exercise ("Chronology: Treatments for", ). Although Pinel changed the rules of Bicêtre, the mistreatment still persisted in others places in Europe ("Timeline: Treatments for",). In 1840, Dorothea Dix observed the mentally ill in Massachusetts and saw how cruelly they were treated ("Chronology: Treatments... middle of paper... gravely ill. I went into the field to help those in need. I only hope that , once others are more knowledgeable, they will want to help others as I do. Works Cited Arehart-Treichel, J. (2013) The Future Looks Promising for the Prevention of Mental Illness Psychiatric News.Borinstein, AB (1992).Attitudes of the public towards people with mental illnesses Health Affairs, 11(3), 186-196.Kobau, R., Zack, M.M., Manderscheid, R., Palpant, R.G., Morales, D.S., Luncheon, C., et al. (2005).Attitudes towards mental illness.CDC.Lieberman, J.A. (2003).The British Journal of Psychiatry community on knowledge and attitudes towards mental illness in Nigeria. Our history. (n.d.). Mental Health America.Timeline: Treatments for mental illness. (n.d.). PBS.