Abstract
The origins of Western culture extensively relate to Ancient Greek culture. While many ancient cultures have contributed to our current knowledge about medicine and the origins of psychiatry, the Ancient Greeks were among the best observers of feelings and moods patients expressed towards medicine and toward what today is referred to as 'psychopathology'. Myths and religious references were used to explain what was otherwise impossible to understand or be easily communicated. Most ancient myths focus on ambiguous feelings patients may have had towards drugs, especially psychotropic ones. Interestingly, such prejudices are common even today.Recalling ancient findings and descriptions made using myths could represent a valuable knowledge base for modern physicians, especially for psychiatrists and their patients, with the aim of better understanding each other and therefore achieving a better clinical outcome. This paper explores many human aspects and feelings towards doctors and their cures, referring to ancient myths and focusing on the perception of mental illness.
Highlights
This paper explores many human aspects and feelings towards doctors and their cures, referring to ancient myths and focusing on the perception of mental illness
The origins of Western culture are extensively related to Ancient Greek culture, and many current aspects of human behaviour and social organisation still rely on these roots
As the science aimed at treating pain and illness, has always represented a core aspect of human societies
Summary
The origins of Western culture are extensively related to Ancient Greek culture, and many current aspects of human behaviour and social organisation still rely on these roots. The therapeutic effects, as well as the side effects of psychiatric drugs, result from a large number of heterogeneous factors; they could be related to the patient's characteristics such as age, sex, physical condition, culture and personality Another important observation is the fact that psychiatric medications are often perceived as different from general medical ones. While Ancient Greeks generally considered psychic and somatic conditions as different manifestations, possibly part of the same illness, in the following centuries physicians often neglected these observations, mainly due to new religious influences. Today it is sometimes reported by the media (and in the worst scenario by few doctors too) and others that 'psychopharms may hurt', and 'psycho'-pharms could be reported to be completely different from 'pharms'. Numerous solanaceae family plants such as atropa belladonna, stramonium (thorn apple), hyoscyamus (henbane), and mandrago officinalis (mandrake), were
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