Aaron Kosminski's Mental condition and Schizophrenia

[Jeff Leahy]

This is just a quick post, as I have for some time been interested in starting a thread about Aaron kosminski mental state/condition. And as today is International Mental Health Day, I thought this a good opportunity.

It has for sometime been supposed that Aaron kosminski was suffering from Schizophrenia. However these are modern terms and no diagnosis from the time was given to this affect. i.e. it is a modern diagnosis.

I’d like to start collating what is known of Aaron’s condition and hopefully persuade some modern experts to contribute. ‘Hey’ it would even be great if perhaps we could get people who suffer from the condition to contribute.

The main thing that I wish to stress at the start of this thread, is that nearly all expert opinion, I have sort on the subject, stress that schizophrenics

ARE NOT DANGEROUS!

It is an illness. A terrible debilitating illness that can destroy the lives of people who suffer from it. Today this illness can be treated with drugs, however it is still much misunderstood. Statistics from country to country contradict themselves, and even people who, I trust and respect on the subject, still say they have a lot to learn.

So there are no experts on this thread. Just people interested in finding out more about a subject, that is ‘still’ very miss understood.

Hopefully this will be a learning curve for everyone and I welcome any/all contributions, hopefully this thread will be totally lacking in confrontation and mutual respect will prevail. It is after all a very sensitive subject and should be treated as such.

Pirate

PS.. I have a mountain of work to complete today. I just wanted to get it started on October 10th 2008.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2006/world_mental_health_day/en/index.html

[Sam Flynn]

With the erosion of community mental health care in the UK during the past few decades, it's currently being claimed that the number of incidents of murder perpetrated by schizophrenics may be on the increase. If this is true of Britain in 2008, where even our depleted CIC provision has to be light-years ahead of that available 120 years ago, what might this tell us about paranoid schizophrenics in Aaron's, or Jack's, East End?

[Sam Flynn]

An interesting article here, claiming that the rates of paranoid schizophrenia amongst the Southern Irish, as well as of Irish immigrants in the US, may be rather higher compared to other ethnic groups. This, it is claimed, seems to have been true as far back as 1916 and, if this snippet from a thesis on the University of Helsinki's website is anything to go by, there may have been an upsurge of (general) schizophrenia towards the end of the 19th Century:

In the 19th century, the numbers of registered "insane" increased rapidly in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and the United States... The reasons for the phenomenon were disputed. Some thought that it was merely caused by more accurate registration... Others insisted that... a true increase in the occurrence of insanity, particularly its more severe forms, had occurred.

Edward Hare believed that it had partly been caused by a true increase in occurrence, because the rise had persisted far longer than the establishment of registration systems, it was extremely pronounced... He suggested that the incidence of schizophrenia in particular had increased, because few descriptions of a disease resembling schizophrenia existed before the 19th century, and in the 18th century it was thought that young people were rarely liable to insanity.

A rapid increase in the incidence of schizophrenia would also explain the rather abrupt development of interest in schizophrenia particularly during the latter part of the 19th century - although the identification of the two most important organic psychoses at that time, Korsakoff's psychosis caused by chronic alcoholism and general paresis caused by tertiary syphilis, may also have increased the interest in functional psychoses (Colp 1995). (Hare 1983, Hare 1988)

Further food for thought when considering the dangers of viewing 19th Century mental health through the eyes of the 20th/21st, perhaps? See also this very interesting article, about time-trends in schizophrenia; of special interest is the section on the potential effects of (im)migration on the incidence of schizophrenia. Note also a fascinating graph showing the steep upward trend in asylum admissions from the end of the 1880s through to the early 1900s.

[Natalie Severn]

This looks to be interesting Sam.I know that the incidence has been higher amongst other immigrant groups,more recently and that this has been thought to be connected to the stresses involved in relocation etc

[Sam Flynn]

This looks to be interesting Sam.I know that the incidence has been higher amongst other immigrant groups,more recently and that this has been thought to be connected to the stresses involved in relocation etc

I wouldn't be surprised, Nats, although see the section on "Social Stress" in the last link in my above post, which suggests the causes behind any such effect may be more subtle. The article ("Time Trends in Schizophrenia") also quotes research that showed a lower incidence of schizophrenia among Eastern European Jewish immigrants into Israel in the 1950s, compared to those Jews who had emigrated there from the Middle East. It may well be that where one comes from - socially as well as geographically - may have an effect.

[Jeff Leahy]

Fab Sam, I must get some sleep sorry, will post soon

Have large back log info to sought and read

Pirate

[Natalie Severn]

Sam,I drove back from Wales yesterday and so am having an early[ish]night. But quickly,I did a study on Finnish immigrants into Sweden some years ago and came upon some surprising findings that may support what you are saying.It concerned the achievement of developing bilingual pupils and their academic and bilingual progress appeared to be markedly affected by social class,inclusion and perceptions of the host community.
Best
Norma

[Roy Corduroy]

Sam, good post. I'm still digesting the several articles.

..although the identification of the two most important organic psychoses at that time, Korsakoff's psychosis caused by chronic alcoholism and general paresis caused by tertiary syphilis, may also have increased the interest in functional psychoses.

As to Kosminski specifically - there is no mention of the other two, alcoholism or syphilis, correct?

Roy

[Sam Flynn]

As to Kosminski specifically - there is no mention of the other two, alcoholism or syphilis, correct?

None that I can ever recall reading, Roy, on either count.

[Chris]

From what I've read, my impression is that there was not much abuse of alcohol among the Jewish community in the East End in 1888. The received wisdom seems to be that gambling, rather than drinking, was the preferred vice.

[Natalie Severn]

From what I've read, my impression is that there was not much abuse of alcohol among the Jewish community in the East End in 1888. The received wisdom seems to be that gambling, rather than drinking, was the preferred vice.

That is my understanding too Chris.

[Robert]

Maybe they bet on who could drink whom under the table.

[Jeff Leahy]

Sam, good post. I'm still digesting the several articles.

As to Kosminski specifically - there is no mention of the other two, alcoholism or syphilis, correct?

Roy

Just a quick post, as this week is MAD!, but I think the term alcoholism is miss-leading.

Schizophrenics are affected disproportionately by alcohol. So access to alcohol might have a very different effect on Aaron to the average drinker.

and of course once cut off from supply he wouldn't be an alcoholic..

And I dont think we need to concider Aaron as an Alcoholic..

But when faced with the early stages of schizophrenia, turning to alcohol is not uncommon

Pirate

PS.. I've lots else to add..just lots of links etc I havnt had time for, so back next week. Hope your with us Lyn