The book now seems primitive, comic even. It makes me wonder how archaic and subjective our comprehension of mental illness is now, and how we'll talk about it in another 63 years. This nursing textbook listed the causes of schizophrenia as war, marriage, worry over masturbation, and emotional stress caused by religious revivals. The book warns parents to keep watch over their teenager's sexual hygiene. There is some controversy over whether schizophrenia is an ancient or modern illness.
Some people claim it existed in Biblical times and in historical texts.
Occasional cases were noted during the Middle Ages and up through the 1700s. The disease saw a dramatic increase between the early 1800s and the 1950s. There are currently about 1.8 million people living in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The most popular treatment for schizophrenia today is medication. There is a new generation of anti-psychotic drugs, like olanzapine, replacing old standards like Thorazine and Haldol, drugs that made people drool and shuffle.