For a number of years, multiple forms of hysteria or madness have been seen by therapists in every society and culture. Vast varieties of theories, and many myths, as well as legends, have been developed to help explain such disorders and conditions. Society’s view on what was considered to be abnormal behavior was often determined on these particular phenomenon’s as well as paranormal forces, unstable personality, the anger of the Gods, hereditary factors, the influence of the moon, and debauchery. Throughout time history has shown that theorists are continually developing a vast amount of theories to help explain psychological issues and abnormal behavior. These theories typically fall under three basic categories: scientific/medical (biological, imbalances, emotional stressors, or faulty learning processes), humanitarian (cruelty or inadequate living conditions), and mystical/supernatural (possession of spirits), (Frude, 1998). To get a fuller and better understanding, many theorists focus on these ideas of psychology and the experience they have had in his or her field of study. It is good to know the beginnings or the origins of unusual or abnormal behavior. Knowing how these behaviors are treated, observed, and diagnosed, even to know how it evolved into a scientific discipline is just as important to the history.
The concepts of abnormal psychology has been studied by psychologists for centuries, but what society believes to be unusual or abnormal behavior goes much further back to the pre-modern and primitive times (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The most common way of going about explaining abnormal behavior was through animism. This was the concept that a person suffering from a mental disorder was most often possessed with a malevolent or evil spirit. The first form of surgery done to help cure this disorder was the most primitive and was referred to as “trephination.” This surgery was done by drilling or cutting a couple of holes in the patients’ skull....