page_title: Mental health in New Zealand
section_title: History of mental illness
hierarchical_section_title: Mental health in New Zealand / History of mental illness
caption_attribution_description: Seacliff Lunatic Asylum NZ. Picture over 90 years old therefore in the public domain. From the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume Two (1870-1900). http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2L5
context_page_description: Mental health in New Zealand generally follows the trends of mental health in other OECD countries. New Zealand's 'outdoor life style' and high standard of living are balanced by isolation and a self-reliant culture, which discourages asking for help. Historically, people with mental health problems were institutionalised, whereas now the focus is on care in the wider community. The stigma around poor mental health has been lessened in recent years as a result of this change and public education campaigns. However, New Zealand's minorities and youth continue to be over-represented in the negative mental health statistics.
context_section_description: From the settlement of New Zealand (c. 1300 AD) till into the 20th century most Māori believed in a supernatural origin of mental illness. They did, however, distinguish between the insane, demented, the intellectually disabled, and people who were spiritually possessed. There is no significant reference to suicide in the Māori oral tradition.
  Many European early settlers found life in the colony hard and alienating. Instances of depression were recorded and many attempts were made to make New Zealand more like their home country. In the 1840s, the societal response to people with mental illness was imprisonment in specially-built sections of local jails; no treatment was provided. However, two doctors were required to testify in order to commit a patient.
caption: Seacliff Lunatic Asylum, built in the 1870s.
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