HORROR & FASCINATION at the Glore Psychiatric Museum | History Traveler Episode 216 

My late Mother told me a story about the mental ward at Liverpool hospital in the 1960s...Whilst visiting a friend, she noticed there was a woman there with hair down to her tail bone that was matted and filthy... no one could get close to her to cut it off. She used to run screaming and scatching, biting and kicking. My Mother took just one look at her and said "Oh my goodness, haven't you got beautiful long hair!" The sad Woman looked at her and said "thank you... would you please help me brush it?" My Mother (who wasn't afraid of much in this world) said "Yes, I'd would be honoured!" Turning to a nurse she said "Can you get me a hair brush please?" The nurses and Doctors were stuck fast with a look of shock on their faces! One of them raced to grab a brush. My mother sat with the lady and ever so slowly started brushing from the ends... slowly working through the knots and tangles. They sat together for three hours straight They talked, sang, laughed. It was the first time in four years they had heard this poor woman laugh and seen her smile. My gentle mum promised to go there every Tuesday and finish brushing her hair. Once fully brushed, she washed it and plaited it. They drank Tea together exchanged histories and my mother even taught her to speak Italian (mum told me, whatever she learned she retained perfectly!) My Mother, kept her Tuesday promise every week for two years, doing her beautiful hair, till this poor lady Died. Sadly she went in one Tuesday, and my Mother learned that her friend had passed away. She wasn't given a service nor the respect of a decent burial. She was classed as a nobody. Because she was mentally unwell, she was a nobody who apparently didn't even deserve the dignity of having a least one person -my Mother - to say Goodbye at her graveside. When Mum enquired where she had been put to rest, they refused to tell her and asked her to leave. And not return. Mum cried all the way back home. I've never forgotten this. Everyone, no matter what state they're in or what they have suffered, all deserve a bit of love, respect and kindness. ❤️

My Grandfather was the director of physical education and activities at the Willard Asylum in Upstate New York. He would occasionally bring patients home with him for a weekend out. I remember some of these people, coloring pictures with them at the dining room table. Their pictures, like mine, always found their way to the refrigerator door. My Grandfather kept them all.

I worked for several years at a psych hospital for teens where the units were locked. It was the most interesting job I ever had. Also, the saddest, as when I read their charts, I would get so angry at their parents and realize these children really did not have a chance to be emotionally stable due to what they had suffered at the hands of their parents.

Hey man, thanks for taking the time. As a disabled veteran; I am not sure how much of all that put me in my condition. But with head trauma, epilepsy, PTSD, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, night terrors; let's just say that it's everywhere. I was an FMF Corpsman and tried my best to help others. Now I need help. Please don't stop educating as much as you can. Thank you.

I worked at a nursing home about 20 years ago. I recognized something in this video. The lady restrained in the blue chair is wearing a 'posey': a sleeveless shirt that has long ties at the back. We actually used one of these on a particular resident who had dementia and would not stay in her bed to get needed rest at night. The posey went on with the ties at the back, the ties were crossed over and tied to her bed frame (not tightly). She could roll side to side, and even sit up. She just couldn't get out of her bed. We checked on her regularly when she was in bed, to be sure no accidents occurred. Her name was Mary, and all day long, she would wander the halls, kissing the hands of anyone who would let her, smiling and saying "I love you." in her chirping voice. Those three words were all I ever heard her say. I loved her to pieces, and so did the rest of the nurses. It was a sad, quiet day when she left us. God bless her.

I was committed to a state hospital about 20 years ago. It was awful. I witnessed many awful things such as patients having to undergo court ordered ECT (against their will), patients being put into restraints and staff bragging about their take down techniques afterward (in ear shot of restrained patient and others), psychiatrists insisting that known medication side effects such as oculygyric crisis were actually not side effects at all and that patients were making it up, patients with eating disorders being forced to eat and sleep in "the fishtank" (a room in the center of the unit covered in windows), patients being made to wear paper clothes, patients taking their own lives, patients being openly mocked by staff, patients in emotional distress being ignored by staff, staff failing to protect patients from physical assault by other patients, etc. I don't think we've come quite as far as we would like to think. After all the most barbaric treatment of the past still occurs quite regularly in the present; a lack of compassion to those afflicted with mental illness.

In high school, my psych class went on a field trip there. It was one of the reasons I studied psych in college. The things in that museum made me want to fight and advocate for those people that are too sick to advocate for themselves.

My grandfather was a doctor during this time (1921-1956) and two world wars. He used to go to our local mental hospital to be present when they did the ECT. He told me once the best thing for the mentally ill was the advent of Thorazine. I am a nurse of 45+ years and remember some of the treatments of the mid 70's and they were still very inhumane by our standards. Thank you for going to this place and illustrating how far we have come with treatment and how far we still need to go.

I actually love that they gifted that guy a new wheelchair as a token of good faith after all his hard work for him collecting all those cigarette packs. That's just sweet.

I sure am grateful to be living in this time. I suffer with PTSD, severe anxiety and depression. I would have probably been one of those people that could never leave. That's kinda scary.

what was sad was back in those days if a husband got mad or just wanted to get rid of his wife he could have his wife committed to one of these facilities and there was nothing she could do about it, can you imagine going into there sane and how you would be when you were released if you were ever released.

I’m really pleased with how respectful you remained to the crazy things of the past while appropriately laughing at things that anyone would normally laugh at today without coming across rude. Thank you for that.

I am a retired alzheimers/psyche nurse....this was all so very interesting, educational and emotional at the same time......mental health, even today, is misunderstood in many ways.

A life lesson I learned personally some years ago is that there isn't a family in the world unaffected by mental health issues. It's more that the 'stigma' has meant we have been very poor at discussing it openly - from which everyone of all ages would benefit.

My aunt was a nurse at the state hospital in South Dakota back in the early 60s and would sometimes come home and cry about the things she saw and did that shift. She wouldn't tell us kids why, but now I think she spared us.

This makes me really sad. My dad was committed to a state hospital in the 1970s... it was awful. We didn't know what to do or whether his treatment was appropriate or not... but it still is disturbing to me to see how we as a society have treated people.

Pregnant woman also suffer from Pica its not uncommon. The Kennedy's had a sister they hid away that was permanently damaged from a lobotomy she was locked up in a hospital her entire life. Her name was Rosemary Kennedy. How they thought sticking an ice pick thru your eye would help anything is beyond me.

I’m hoping sooner than later we’ll recognize that leaving people with mental illness to wander around the streets, unable to care for themselves, is cruel. It seems in a lot of cases, we’ve gone right back to where we were when Dorothea Dix appealed to congress for funding for state hospitals- housing the mentally ill in jails and on the streets.

ECT is HORRIFIC even until recently. My mother was severely mentally ill throughout my life. At one of her psychiatric hospital stays when I was 11 was my 1st memory of one of her ECT treatments and it's still painful to think about today. She was brought to the visiting area in a paper outift and totally unaware of her surroundings. She had no idea who I was. Never a word said to prepare my dad or us kids to how she was going to be. Smh. Her eyes looked empty and I remember my little heart breaking....it was so terrible

Not only were the treatments often barbaric, so were a lot of the reasons that people were sent there. Sometimes people used insane asylums as a way to just get rid of someone. Many individuals in asylums were abused either physically or sexually. A brutal place to be for sure. 🥺

I was a corrections officer for years and the talent/artistic traits they possessed was astonishing.

When you showed the embroidered story, then the artwork, I got tears in my eyes. That art was extraordinary. It's sad really. I had to start making things or I would get so depressed. I started with paint by numbers when I was a young girl. I have done macrame, embroidery, counted crossstich (you count the squares of the fabric to find the center or wherever you want to start, and the smaller it was, the better I liked it). Diamond painting, paper quilling, cooking and baking, (my baked things are legendary), drawing, painting, jewelry making, Leather work, car upholstery, working on engines, horsehair braiding (with our own horses hair) etc. Always busy with my hands. I'm 68 now. My hands are sore from arthritis but I do things when I can anyway. I understand that the doctors and nurses did their best. The embroidery the girls did for the nurse speaks volumes for her character.

I'd just like to say thank you. I'm a psychologist with an interest into psychological history. Most people who document Psychiatric hospitals/ institutions dramatise everything even down to the title of their video, but you have not. You hit the nail on the head when you spoke about these treatments were the best/ most up to date of their time. Due to research we have progressed to our best fitting treatments. Yes, in 100 years, people can look back at our treatments (just like we look back at the middle aged treatments) and think we were barbaric for dosing people up on medication (the medicated lobotomy). History is there to be learned from and to be treated with respect- thank you for doing that. The patients in every Psychiatric Hospital are/ were people too.

Didn't think showing the art pieces would make me cry, it's so interesting I feel like there is something connected with mental illnesses and being a creative person. I have been creative my whole life and suffer with depression and anxiety. I know others that are really creative and struggle with mental heath.

That was unexpected. Old treatments were harsh, so glad they have evolved but sorry to say the mental health system is still failing groups of people. This museum reminds me of the Mutter Museum. Thanks for another great video!

My poor grandpa Sam used to be given shock treatments for his depression. He was such a sweet man. I love you grandpa ❤

I tried to take the tour a few years ago but couldn't finish. I still can't believe how emotional this made me.

I had a great uncle back in 1923, who witnessed his father being killed by a neighbor, his mother died in childbirth, & my grandma & her siblings were placed with relatives, due to my great uncle being 3 years old, & stopped talking, the state of Ohio placed him in an asylum in Columbus, Ohio. When he turned 18, since the state owned him, they would not allow him to leave but for a few days during a month. My grandma would go & get him, though he talked fine, to me as a small child, & smiled at us kids all the time, I had never seen him go coocoo. My grandma had said when she would go to pick him up,( she had to walk long hallways, that always stunk of human feces & anything else you can imagine) she seen many of the mental patients, living in a barn like structure, naked with straw under their bodies, screaming at the top of their lungs, in cages. Here was my great uncle seeing this as a 3 year old child, because he would not talk, they pegged him as retarded. He died in that same asylum, which by the late 80's they tore down.

Part of the problem with early psychiatric facilities (and even now) is that they'd be started with the best of intentions and, as you said, doctors and other staff would be doing their utmost to provide the best care they could given the knowledge they had... but then under-funding and overcrowding would eventually overwhelm them. Even the best staff can only deal with so many people before standards start to fall in all areas. Burnout, warehousing, abuse from under-trained staff, etc. affects many institutions to this day.

It's truly heartbreaking to see some of these "methods" they concocted and thinking of the poor souls they used them on who must have been utterly terrified as they were essentially experimented on.

THIS was very illuminating. I've dealt with major depression, anxiety and a raft of other crap for my entire life. I've been in hospital a couple of times as a result. I'm an incest survivor who realized in my mid sixties that what my father did was NOT my fault. That seems like a simple thing. But to FEEL it is different than being able to say it! I've always been able to talk about my problems with mental health. I found that it opened the door for other people to come forward with their problems. When I was homeless in the 2010s, we used to go out just before curfew, to have the last smoke of the day. We weren't allowed out from 5 pm on. So … a few of us would get in my car and drive around the block. I was just starting to come to grips with my abuse then and one day, I started a conversation in the car. A passenger said that she had been molested, as well. One "lady," who turned out to be my stalker, said she'd rather not have that discussion in front of her. I told her that in MY CAR I could discuss ANYTHING I wanted. Particularly if the others were OK with it! Being able to get people to open up and start their own dialog was/is so rewarding. Thank you. I look forward to seeing more of your videos …

One of the saddest things of all is when the mentally ill are not only rejected by society, but are rejected by family members.

How could a person physically swallow some of those things? I have a heck of a time swallowing a pill or capsule let alone any of that stuff. We had an inmate who was certified as being "not in control of his faculties". If you told him what an occasion was, birthday, anniversary, etc, for a couple of cigarettes, he could draw the most amazing cards and beautiful lettering yet he couldn't function in society. It was a vicious circle. He would come in out of his mind, get medicated and be "normal", get released. He would be on the street, feel fine and not take his medications because he felt fine and end up in jail again. The circle would start all over again, medicate, release, reoffend, medicate, release and reoffend. Eventually he was found dead somewhere. Another knew the capitols of pretty well every country including all 50 states and Canadian provinces. Name the city, he could tell you the country/state/province and vice versa. Even I can't do that. On a lighter side, a psychiatrist was leaving the hospital and had a flat tire. He put the nuts in the hub cap and as he rolled the spare, tipped it over and lost the nuts down the drain. He was anguishing over his problem when a patient asked what was wrong and the psychiatrist told him. The patient said just take a nut off the other three wheels. It will hold until you can get some new nuts in town. The psychiatrist said that was a great idea and asked why the patient was here? The patient said it is because I'm supposed to be crazy but I'm not stupid.

Thank you for doing this video. I am a blind person, so all of your commentary and picture descriptions were very very helpful. When I was in college, I went to the East Texas mental hospital in Rusk Texas, and we got to see one of these places in action. Scary stuff. Mental illness is so scary, but all of us face the possibility. As you said, we all must focus on the person for who they are, I am a blind person, but it does not define me. It is only a character trait. Mental illness is the same way. They are people first. They have likes, dislikes, and dreams, just like the rest of us.

I’m writing this in order as you talk about things lol Heavy furniture is also harder or impossible to throw. From 2019-2021 I worked at a modern short term inpatient psychiatric hospital and our patient beds weighed 2,000 lbs each and required 12 large men to move if not taken apart. On the topic of the mental illness Pica, I had some patients eat dry wall, foam, and even batteries. The hospital I worked in also still does elective ECT. In modern days they are sedated, restrained to avoid hurting themselves, and constantly monitored by a team of medical professionals and constant vitals. The most common side effect is head ache and/or short term memory issues. Some people see little to no change, but I have had patients who went from completely catatonic (not moving, eating, toileting, etc) from depression to skipping down the hall singing and smiling in under a week. For some people it is literally a miracle cure. The restraints we used were similar to the leather ones but were a rubbery plastic that is able to be sanitized. There were 3 units at my hospital and a unit I didn’t work on, which was for acute patients, had multiple restraints per day. The Utica bed is interesting. On my unit we had a quiet room that was nothing but a blank white room with a bed and clouds on the ceiling. We had many patients to request to sleep in there because they liked being secluded as they felt safe in the blank quiet. Also, I live in upstate NY not too far from Utica, NY where this bed was first used. Never knew! Our halls were covered in art from patients. Running the activity group and creating art with my patients was my favorite thing to do. They were all such interesting and unique people. They all hugged me on my last evening there. I miss them. As someone who’s suffers with mental illness myself I always had a special connection to them because I knew what they felt. Thank you for sharing this place. I’d love to visit sometime! The brain is a mysterious thing and we still don’t know a lot about it. I’m sure I’m the future people will think where I worked was barbaric!

I love the last message about dealing with stigma towards mental illness. It seems unreal how this is much needed in some parts of the world more than others. I'm a therapist and taboo about this profession is ever present.

My wife has schizophrenia and it's been one of the hardest things I had to overcome.

As someone who has been passionate about mental health and mental illness treatment since childhood (my mother is schizophrenic), my first thought when I first saw your face/reaction to having been through the museum was "That's the face of a man who didn't know about the history of mental health before today." My friend, you've only scratched the surface. The world history of neuropsychology and mental health is, much like medicine as a whole, is as horrifying as it is amazing.

As a woman who suffers from manic bipolar, depression, anxiety and ptsd this scares me. Just thinking about being tied down or confined to a small space makes my heart race. I would’ve never been released from this hospital. Makes me sick to think about the trauma the patients had to deal with. 😢

As a niece of someone in my family who lived in a state hospital as this, alot of this brings back childhood memories. I was very small at the time. I have now worked for over 10 years for a long term care facility that cares for babies to adults, who are just like those in your piece. How far caring for those individuals has come. I am proud of my facility for treating them like individuals and loving them all. It's amazing what they can do when you think they can't.

I've just come out from the mental health hospital for severe depression I'm so lucky not to have been in those eras love the history

I worked in psych for over 30 years. You did a great job of talking about past treatment options. Science evolves. Hopefully we will get to a better place for treatment. 1990's was the " decade of the brain"...with new medication tx. However we need more discoveries for better tx. Thank you.

When you talk about being barbarians, I remember in the 1960, when I was young, I had to go to the dentist. He strapped me into a chair so I could not move, while he was doing his procedure. Never forgot, now going to a dentist frightens me but I tough through it. Things have changed and gotten so much better. I feel for all the mental people who had to go through such an ordeal.

I have a personality disorder (BPD), and something that is a very big problem and a stigma in the present is how people view personality disorders. It's frequently used as a scare factor in horror content (schizophrenia, DID, bipolar, BPD, etc) and a lot of people call abusers narcissistic without understanding that A) narcissism is an actual disorder (NPD), and B) a personality disorder doesn't make someone abusive. People are abusive because they are just abusive, and we need to stop labeling abusers as psychopathic, unempathetic, and narcissistic. The more we stigmatize personality disorders, the less likely it is that people will get the help that they need. Many of these disorders are caused by childhood trauma so adding onto that trauma isn't helping. People shouldn't have to feel ashamed of their disorder because the public is mislabeling and stigmatizing their disorder. I can say with confidence that it has made recovery really, really hard for me, it's so much harder than it should be because I'm afraid that if people find out about my struggles, they will think that I'm abusive. Nobody should have to be afraid to talk to people because if they open up, these people will be afraid of them or hate them. It sucks so much. It's sadly also very common for actual medical professionals to be dismissive or judging towards those with personality disorders. Speaking from experience, a therapist straight up refused to help me for two years straight but she also wouldn't let me see any other therapist because she failed to understand how a personality disorder will lead to s*icidal behaviors if it's left untreated. I went to the mental hospital for one week and she thought I was fine without any other treatment for my disorder. I landed myself in the mental hospital a second time because of it. These experiences are so common. The public needs to understand that depression and anxiety aren't the only mental disorders out there, and if someone wants to advocate for mental health then they need to include advocating to the more "unconditional", "unpleasant", and "strange" disorders; the ones that are difficult for many people to fully understand.

The “ice pick” lobotomy was actually trained to any staff willing to learn. So they didn’t have to be a doctor. ECG , cold pack, and hydrotherapy are horrific. My mother was treated with all of them back in the day and it’s given her even more trauma. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Even more horrific is it was just back in 1960s-1980s.

i’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety over the past few years, and as of last year it got really bad and i had to stay in a short term psychward. seeing the art that these patients made really made me happy because i remember drawing thing my s from my experience there just to help express how i felt as well as meeting others who did the same. for one patient i met he was so bad at communicating because of his bad anger issues that he found peace in art and was able to express himself to others that way. i just think it’s cool how art and mental health coincides.

As a person with depressive anxiety disorder, GAD and PTSD I'm thankful I was born in the last 40 years and not back in these times. I was so terrified of being committee that I hid my mental illness. It got too much to take and I finally saw a specialist. She was amazing and assured me that ppl don't get committed anymore.

It’s so sad to know that people were treated worse than animals. Even today the mental illness is such a taboo. Some of the horrible things that happened is so sad. I was placed in a state institution at the age of 15 and stayed more then a year. By my parents. Afterwards there was no follow up treatment. My life is still messed up. All I needed was to be loved and nurtured

Boy, I wasn't expecting that! It's interesting yet sad and tragic at how we treated people over the ages because of mental health or simply because they were different.

Thank you, I found this video very interesting. I have Bipolar 2 w/psychotic features, and I am so grateful that all I have to do is take my pills 3 times a day to keep my illness in remission. I feel badly for the thousands of mental patients who were subjected to those treatments.

Dear History Traveller⚰️ I enjoyed this presentation as I do all your talks. I am an R.N. and have worked in a state psych. hospital. Although not perfect it was a far sight better than 100-150 years ago. I have cared for patients who ate odd things. Mostly it was hair! It is most interesting to work with the mentally I’ll. I found though after 1 1/2 years I wanted another area of nursing. I tried Obstetrics and loved it. Did it for 40 years!👼🏻I am now retired. I am now am amateur historian. I am studying the Civil War, U.S. prez and great shipwrecks. I truly love history. I have learned so many things about interesting people. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was given a patent? Only prez. to do so. Thanks for your interesting programs. Look forward to more

We do need to educate people and destigmatize mental illness. I personally suffer with mental illness by the grace of God and a lot of good friends and many years of therapy and a little medication I’m doing well. I spent the last week with a friend who is hospitalized due to a severe manic episode. He is an incredible young man and I am so proud of him for fighting so hard to become stable. Would you criticize somebody for having a heart issue or kidney disease? Of course not. I pray for all out there that are struggling with mental illness. May God bless you and keep you.

Mental health reform is so important in advocating for those with mental health conditions. The fact that these institutionalized, psychiatric facilities and their practices were so common as a tx method, not even a century ago, is astonishing. The work that deinstitutionization and community-based mental health services play on mental health reform is a monumental step into giving adequate support for those who need it. And of course, there is still work to be done, but I am glad that facilities like this aren't used as the only pathway into treatment for those with mental health conditions.

Through my line of work I have had many encounters with the truly mentally ill. I’m so glad the treatment options have evolved.

I am an RN supervisor for a long-term psychiatric facility. I love what I do, and we have come a long way, but still, many changes need to be made! Very interesting video, thank you 😊

Thank you for showing this. My mom, who was a nurse, often talks about people she cared for and ended up developing a loving connection to the patient. She worked in oncology and would often tell us her ‘nursing stories.’

Some of the art made by the patients is simply fantastic !!

I live here. My mom worked here when she was pregnant with me in the 80’s. The State Hospital is still here. Just moved to a new facility. There are tunnels running under the old buildings. The place has a lot of history and horror. Also a graveyard full of unmarked graves. Only numbers on them. Tucked back behind the old hospital. It’s a sad place.

I am in awe at the painting toward the end. They are most stunning. I believe that with open minds and hearts we would have more compassion and empathy for the people with mental illness. And the Drs and nurses who worked with them should be given lots of credit for the work they do to help break the stigma. And thank you for opening our eyes to see more clearly.

You did a great job with this tour! The Pica patient’s stomach contents was absolutely amazing!!! I wish they had a picture of her before they opened her up. Imagine how bloated her stomach looked! A lot of these things were used in the prisons too. I worked inside a men’s prison that was built at the same time as Alcatraz, so it is really old AND still in use. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair! There are different units (buildings) at the prison I worked in. The building which had extremely mentally I’ll violent offenders was really scary. During training we toured every building. Oh, the lobotomy part of the museum reminded me of the oldest Kennedy daughter. Her parents had her get a lobotomy. She was a shell of herself after that. Very sad.

I appreciate your continued efforts to bring us history, and also to continue to conceptualize history within its own timeframe. We lose appreciation for the past when we view it from the lens of the present. It does not justify past wrongs, but it paints an accurate picture of from where we have come.

I suffer from severe depression from all the losses in my life, starting at age 6 and ending with the loss of my whole large family including my only sibling with the passing of my mom in 2013. I lost 5 family members in 6 months to death when my mom passed. I also suffer from ptsd. NY grandson (whom I raised since birth) is autistic was bullied terribly in the city we lived in. He was told more than once that he shod go home and kill himself. We have since moved 500 miles away and he's blossoming. I'm still not dealing well. Heaven forbid you talk about it. Sad in this day and age.

The story about the guy who was saving packs of cigarettes to trade to buy a new wheelchair for the hospital is just so sweet. Even in his delusion he wanted to help others. Art (and music therapy) are still used today and are hugely beneficial not just for patients of mental disorders but also for the elderly or developmentally challenged. My doctor recently recommended ECT for me because of depression & anxiety issues. Due to some other health issues we are running out of medication options. I remain non-committal to the idea because I just can't bring myself to allow someone to shoot electricity through me.

this is so heartbreaking! I have a nephew who suffers from schizophrenia I can't even begin to imagine him being subjected to such horrible experiments just absolutely horrifying! I do understand the doctors were trying however it's still sad

Retired paramedic and corrections officer, here… and a lifetime resident of Misery! I had never heard of this museum, or your channel, but I am grateful to the algorithm that brought me here! Will definitely be subscribing… and paying a visit to the museum in person. (Edit: Came back to watch a second time, and to offer a personal favorite as a potential site for you to visit! For your consideration: The Higgerson School Historic Site and Museum in New Madrid, Missouri. It is part of my family’s history, and I could get you an exclusive with the last teacher - my grandmother. You could even include the pre-civil war era Hunter-Dawson Home, at one end of the same street, and the New Madrid Faultline Museum at the opposite end! Absolutely thrilled history buff here, so happy I found your channel! You do an awesome job on all aspects, absolutely loved it!)

So glad we’ve come a long way in treating mental illness. Those paintings were amazing. I have a friend who teaches art therapy and I’ve seen of the work her students do. It’s truly amazing. Thank you for another great video. It was an eye opener.

I remember watching Geraldo Rivera report on Willowbrook, and the mistreatment of the patients there. So horrible, what they had to endure. Thank you for sharing this.

This is a perfect example of why we should never destroy history….we learn from it. History is the tool that allows to move forward!✌️

As a nurse who often interacts with many areas of health, I really enjoyed your presentation. I especially appreciate how you reminded viewers that times/treatments have changed. Treatments are a constantly evolving life form. Thanks for the education

Being Bipolar myself an having PTSD with depression, I really feel an am very greatful to all those who have paved the way before us!!! God Bless you for doing this video it's the first I've watched an now have subscribed to you. I cannot wait to see other informative videos from you.

Where I live we have an old Asylum that is being used as a haunted house. Eloise Asylum in Westland, Michigan. It's nice to actually see something good done with an an old Asylum. This is amazing. Thank you. ❤️ Hopefully someone will come to their senses and do the same thing with the one in my area. I have deep family ties to it.

As I’ve gotten older I have become interested in psychology. My fiancé (who has since passed away) has a DSM and when I found it and read some of I really found a topic that I REALLY got into. From there I came across Byberry Mental Hospital which when that closed many of the patients were moved to Haverford State which was within walking distance of my house. A friend of mine, his back years backed up to the grounds of Haverford and there was one night we were at his house and one of the patients was in his backyard. That gave us a little of a scare but he was used to it. Another thing that I came across during finding all of this information was Dr.Walter Freeman who invented the ice pic lobotomy. There is a documentary on RU-vid called The Lobotomist that I found VERY interesting. It really is unreal how people were and are treated. In Victorian times it was just a place for people to be tortured and forgotten. I also read 10 Day in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly which is an excellent read. I wish I found this interest when I was younger. I would have done something in the field.

The state hospital near where I live has a farm as well. The patients lived it, as you stated it gave them purpose. When it was taken away from them, the legislature said it was against their civil rights, several of the patients committed suicide. They lost what theyhad to look forward to every day and saw no purpose. The medical staff told the Gov. what would happen but they didn't case or believe them. They (Gov. ) said it was forced labor.

Thank you for doing a video on this amazing museum. It truly is shocking and sobering what happened to loved ones. And God bless those who have compassion for others. We need more of you!

As someone diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety, I can attest to the power of isolation and restraints. I've enjoyed a couple of extended stays in the last 24+ years on psychiatric wards. On one occasion, where I was especially non-compliant and suicidal, I was strapped to a bed in isolation for 24 hours, and kept in isolation for about three days. It was the best vacation I'd had in years! On another note, attesting to our perceptions of past treatments, the "English Booth" is now considered as torture and is used in the Military S.E.R.E. schools! I know because I also spent 18+ hours in one of those! Feeling much better these days with medication and therapy/counseling.

Thankyou for this video. It shows me alot of what my uncle went through. He had many electrical shock treatments and ice baths. His treatment caused his success in suicide. And he was only in our local asylum due to depression because his wife left him. So sad.

My old college roommate did shock therapy after years of depression after nothing else worked and it worked for him.

My mom and dad both taught patients at this mental hospital. My mom worked in adult education, my dad occupational therapy like shop and metal working. The stories of patients and their interactions with them was interesting. By the time they taught there, patients were on a variety of medications.

With all the horror that was reality for some, the art was revealing. That humans who were so affected by mental illness could create such beauty under their living experiences is unexplainable! The piece that showed a hand, then revealed a face, literally took my breath! I would love to see more! I also would love to explore the quilt and the letters of the poor gentleman who stashed the in the tv. Thank you for this spirit opening video.

The art is beautiful. I served as a volunteer at a mental health "State Farm" in Indiana in the late 60s, committed myself to a 10-day stay at a hospital mental health unit after a suicide attempt in Arizona in the late 1980s and scared to death staff would mistakenly take me instead of my roommate for electric shock treatments, and served as a medical social worker in a mental health hospital in California 25 years later. I got so sick working at the mental health hospital because of what I saw and how people were treated (and not treated) that I needed to leave and rarely left my room for nearly a year. I can ASSURE you that 50 years from now, current treatment (and more importantly, the lack thereof) of people dealing with mental illness will be seen as "quite barbaric". Many of us recognize it as barbaric now. Best wishes from Cambodia.

I've had ECT. It actually worked quite well for severe depression that was not responding to more typical medications etc. It was painless but I did experience significant short term memory loss at first. Great, informative video♡♡♡

I used to work in a state hospital, used to be a county poor farm and insane asylum in Michigan. Some of the "treatments" were certainly a surprise here. Still working in mental health. Thank you for sharing this!

Thank you for your insightful and empathetic narration describing some of these old time methods of dealing with mental illness. I'm glad we have come so much farther. I do think we have a ways to go in educating people about the varied behaviors of those suffering from mental illness to help reduce the fear and stigma and help people have more empathy and understanding. You said it exactly at the very end. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing this tour! I’m so glad that history is still alive in museums for people to learn from! Break The Cycle! Stop The Shame! Support The Person Within! ✝️🙏🏼☝🏼🇺🇸

I’m happy I’ve never really suffered from mental illness but I know lots of people that have. These are some torturous items indeed. 😢

I'm glad some of these things are not being done any more. My Aunt had what they call baby blues now. Her husband at the time put her away. While away he adopted out the baby boy she had. They did shock treatment on her. She was never normal, and never stopped looking for her son. My Mom when to the judge, and tried to get him, but at that time my Mom had six kids.

Than you for bringing a human element to these mental hospitals. For far too long channels have seen the people as another entity, lies ghosts and hauntings. Their artwork was impressive, better than some hung in some small galleries

This was so well documented, thank you. At times horrifying but then so beautiful. Your narration was excellent and I loved that you left some “quiet time” for us to make our own conclusions. Subscribed immediately and thank you again for such a fascinating glimpse into the thankfully, past times medical “care”.

I grew up in St. Joe, my Mother worked there for many years back in the late 50’s to early 60’s. I remember her telling us stories about that time. It’s a very interesting museum, and there’s a lot to take in. After a certain point it became a juvenile hospital. St. Joe has a lot of history, and lots of great museums. Thanks for sharing!

My uncle was in a German world war 11 prison for over 5 yrs. After returning to England, he had a LOBOTOMY and lived a pretty peaceful life up until his death... THRU the years I've learned, even in my own family, they can be VERY smart and VERY talented... THANK YOU for sharing this ! ❤ We AAALL need to learn to BE KINDER ! 😘😘😘

It shows that caring and empathy works!

Thank you for what you are doing. I am a mental patient myself and the fact that you share it with compassion for all party involved

I remember in high school taking a tour of a state mental hospital as a science class field trip. It was a trip alright. History comes in all forms. As usual, good job. Keep traveling.

This was owned by my family! My mother’s maiden name is Glore, my grandfathers uncle owned it.

Thank you for this fascinating and respectful tour. My husband suffers with mental illness. The thing you said about people 100 years from now thinking that the heavy medication of today's treatments is barbaric hit home. I truly hope so!

What a horrifying but fascinating museum! Never knew it existed. I know of an active mental Hospital in Marshall Missouri that we would hear of some horrifying stories about back in the 70’s. What nurses would do to patients, what kind of patients were there……mind boggling. Some had been there for their whole lives. This just brought those memories back…..the things these people had to go thru. The woman that swallowed all those objects, those nurses weren’t watching her, that’s obvious.

Love places that turn into Museums like this. So much can be learned now because of this. I watch several abandoned explorers on YT which often times go into Psyciatric Asylums and it really interests me learning/seeing the way of life back then and what things they used. Same goes for machinery in factories or architecure of the places. I have severe anxiety since High School and learn to live with it very well now without medication and just have to thank people that acknowledge mental illness now and have routes for information and help. Since I didn't grow up with anxiety I at least had something to go off of to get back to. When I got into College I had my wisdom teeth pulled and got Vertigo as a result of the surgery. I have not only lived to deal with anxiety again during that but to live my life with that as well. Many days during that of migraine type experiences of not knowing how I got somewhere and having extreme tension headaches. Now 6 years later, headache free, and back to playing Basketball / mountain biking which I love. Definitely not the prefered route for many to not take medicine and take it slow, but people need to understand it's okay to ask for help, talk about what they are dealing with, and to take time for yourself to work through stuff.

If you've watched a few episodes and feel like I've earned it, be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any new content when it comes out. Also be sure to check out The Gettysburg Museum of History and their store at gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com. Thanks!

Years ago, I worked with children and teenagers with severe autism. Back in the day, the kids I worked with would have been placed in institutions like this one and that breaks my heart.

My great-grandmother's sister was committed to a mental hospital in Washington state in the early 1920's where she remained until her death in 1969. I have spent the last three years gathering information wherever possible in order to write her story. It hasn't been easy as the few remaining living relatives I have refuse to discuss the matter with me, and seem to just want it swept under the rug, but I refuse to let her be forgotten. I greatly appreciate your kind and sensitive portrayal of a subject and time in our collective history that haunts many of us to this day.