Dorothea Dix Essay -- essays research papers

Dorothea Lynde Dix was quoted as saying, In a world where on that point is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do. Dix began at the age of 39, and spent the next 20 years as a favor fitted reformer for the treatment of the mentally ill. When asked to teach a Sunday School class at a womens correctional facility, Dix was appalled at the conditions, as well as the fact that many of the women werent criminals, but were instead mentally ill. This is where her feat began. Her work had immediate results throughout the country, and the changes are still being felt charge today. http//www.webster.edu/woolflm/dorotheadix.html. The web depend one is an excellent source that chronicles Dixs early on life. As a child she lived in a household with a mentally unfit mother and an alcoholic father. This spot details her first frettinger as a teacher, then her second career as a social reformer. The Webster site gives an abundance of specific detail about how Dix influenced people and how fervid she was about her beliefs. The last portion of the website biography laments the fact that Dix and her accomplishments are lamentably under-reported in most history and psychology textbooks, but that this fact would sit very well with Dix herself, as she preferred to not be in the spotlight.http//www.dhhs. severalise.nc.us/mhddsas/DIX/. This website gives a much more than detailed description of Dix and her early life, as well as the time she spent in Boston. The writing is more personal and gives more intimate details. The site, in its entirety, is for the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. The hospital history portion gives a stirring and extremely detailed account of Dix visit to North Carolina and the events leading up to the enunciate legislatures decision to give money for a state hospital. It is an informative, as well as entertaining, account. The site also contains many photographs of Dorothea Dix an d the hospital. This site and the historical elements that it contains is a microcosm of the change Dix brought about. http//www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/ obliges/dorotheadix.html. This site gives another overview of Dorothea Dixs early life and career highlights, but does so with an emphasis on her finding her religious home among ... ...nian Institution site gives more detail on Dix ideas and involvement in the Civil War. It tells how Dix modeled her nursing after Florence Nightingale, even down to commissioning a black dress for herself, imitative of her heroine. The article also paints a portrait of Dix as a dour, disciplined and sanctified person who had trouble relating to the nurses and had a troubling relationship with the male doctors.Dixs life work has had a lasting effect on the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Her goals were never concretely set in her mind, she scarce did what was best for the people and accomplished immeasurable good in her lifetime. not only did s he bring to light the plight of the mentally ill, she helped to open the door for hospitals and asylums to be built across the country and bring about general change in the care and treatment of the patients. She believed, and was able to show, that the insane werent a lost cause. With proper care and treatment many were able to recover and lead normal lives. This was something that professionals at the time didnt deem was possible. She awoke the nations conscience to the plight of the mentally ill.