Monday, September 26, 2011
Obsessions: Chapter 1
Based on reading this chapter, I can better understand why "obsession," as we call it today, is a perfect example of disease entity. Today the definition of the word obsession means an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone, but centuries ago it was defined other ways. And therefore got modified over centuries to better understand it and treat it. For example, the earliest use of the word "obsession" had to do with war then soon came to be used in describing demonic possession. The Renaissance culture accepted the demonic possession/ obsession model. In this time of age, to cure someone of their "demonic obsession behavior" involved an act of renouncing the devil and prayer. This treatment involved exorcism. Then in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, what replaced or modified the understanding of obsession as a demonic explanation was the nervous system. Based on a incident on February 15, 1787, people in group's were obsessed in which they were driven to act and be aware of their actions, but were unable to stop. Today we will now call this mass hysteria. People believed that to cure this disease was methodically shocking every patient with a electrical machine. From then until now we learned and changed the meaning of obsession to better understand it.
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I agree. After reading the history about obsession, I can finally make sense of how it is a disease entity. As you said, “From then until now we learned and changed the meaning of obsession to better understand it.” This shows that as we acquired more knowledge, we were then able to redefine its meaning and therefore make it into what it is known as today. These modifications truly helped us to add more attention on what obsession actually means. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree as well. It was interesting to read about all of the different meanings the word obsession has held. I believe as the years went on and people studied the disorder more, they were able to break it down in order for others to better understand what we know it as today. The idea of shock therapy to "cure" the disorder would probably be laughed at if it was used in todays time. I say this because now we know that its not a good resource! The word will probably continue to evolve as we continue to study it and gain even more knowledge about it. Great response!
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