American Horror Story: Asylum.
Where Fact Meets Fiction
Massive Spoilers Ahead
Seriously.
Did you ever wonder, what the hell are those baths?
or why is she even in here?
Thats not really a mental illness is it?
We are going to take a very geeky journey back through time to the middle of the 1960s.
It was a very dark time in terms of mental health treatment.
Though up until very recent times all mental health treatment fell under the label of The Dark Ages.
People had no concept of brain chemistry.
They tended to pathologize socially unacceptable behaviors.
Mental institutions became horror stories.
Overcrowding led to rampant disease, death was common.
And thats exactly whyAmerican Horror Storymade the archetypal Asylum the setting of choice for their second season.
It truly is an American horror story.
This article will examine some of the more fact-based parts of the show.
So dont expect us to explain why Kit is important to the aliens.
You may have wondered what was up with the baths they were always zipping people into.
This practice is called hydrotherapy and it has been used since ancient times for many medical ailments.
For most of its history hydrotherapy was used to help blood flow and regulate body temperature.
But what about in mental institutions?
As much as it looked like torture, the baths were really used to help a patient relax.
They were zipped up so that the person could rest with their legs stretched out.
A little like a bath pillow.
It would also be used for patients who needed to be restrained often so that prevent bedsores.
It was a non-invasive sedation method.
Onto to something just a tad more invasive…
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9.
Before we go into this, remember the time period we are discussing here.
People were absolutely desperate to find cures for mental illnesses.
So they did their best.
The lobotomy they performed on Anne Frank is called a transorbital lobotomy.
We are going to describe what happened.
Just go ahead and look back at the puppy if you get too grossed out.
This was a widespread practice until better options came along.
Like…
8.
What is shock treatment?
Today we call shock treatment electroconvulsive therapy or ECT (because the first euphemism still sounds painful).
And both Lana and Jude get the privilege of being shocked.
In both of these cases it was used as a form of torture.
Which is unfortunately very close to reality.
During ECT an electric shock is sent through the system, causing convulsions.
They imagined it would help restart the brain in a way that would alleviate the symptoms of mood disorders.
Sometimes shock treatment would result in the dislocation of bones.
Often it resulted in short term amnesia, sometimes even long term amnesia.
(Carrie Fisher has spoken openly about hershock treatmentand potential memory loss.)
Did Nazis really get into the United States after World War II?
And it would have been very easy for Dr. Arden to sneak into the United States.
He is a scientist and the government would have found a way to let him in.
However, they probably wouldnt have wasted all that effort to have him making half-human creatures in an institution.
Nazis escaped to all over the world.
Why did Jude fall apart in the Asylum if she was sane?
Its a process called institutionalization.
And thats exactly what happens to Jude.
Left without stimulation, care or interaction people will lose it.
And thats exactly what happens to Jude after she is left to rot in Briarcliff.
Why was Shelley kept in there?
Being an overtly sexual woman used to be considered a mental illness.
And thats exactly that they labeled Shelley with.
Some doctors thought it was a physical illness connected to the reproductive tract.
These issues would then affect the brain.
Later on it was linked to bipolar disorder.
A sexual appetite of any kind was frowned upon.
Even having sexual dreams or masturbating could be considered evidence for nymphomania.
Shelley represents a nightmare to these physicians, out of control female sexuality on the loose.
Why was Lana kept in there?
Speaking of the scariness of sexuality, why exactly was Lana locked away?
Sure, being Gay was unacceptable and illegal in many parts of the country.
But was it a mental illness?
Of course it was!
And it was in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) until 1974.
Think that Dr. Threadsons therapy methods are a little harsh?
Theyre pretty close to the truth.
Aversion therapy was very common, as doctors tried to convert inappropriate homosexual feelings into appropriate heterosexual feelings.
They would also do their best to teach young women how to be feminine and how to be women.
And it wouldnt have been unusual for Lana to be trapped in the institution.
Whats up with Pepper?
She is framed for a murder she didnt commit simply because she has microcephaly.
It is a birth defect resulting in a smaller head and brain.
It can severely limit brain function.
People born with this condition had very little prospects in life.
They were limited to wasting away in institutions or traveling with sideshows.
Peppers hair is very stereotypical of pinhead freak show attractions.
Things couldnt have been that bad right?
Things were horrendous in institutional tweaks at about the time that Lana does her expose on Briarcliff.
In fact, Geraldo Rivera launched his media career the exact same way.
He exposed the horrors of the real life Briarcliff,Willowbrook.
Willowbrook was an institution for children with developmental disorders.
It was described as a snake pit.
So things were pretty bad.
How did it change?
By the work of people very much like Kit and Lana.
The real survivors of these institutions told their stories.
They protested what had happened to them.
And as word got out it became clear that these horrors had to end.
However, these abuses continue to go on in many places throughout the world.
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