“…human society has always known mental illness and has always had ways of dealing with it.” Face it. Coping with mental illness. Like it's an annoying little fly buzzing around your house and you're stuck there for the day or it's unbearably hot outside and you have to mow the lawn. These are examples of things you need to address. Mental illness is not one of these examples. It's not just something you can roll up a newspaper, slam it against a wall and disappear. It's constant, and it's everywhere: An estimated 26.2% of Americans (age 18 and older) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. But again, these sick people are not just statistics, they are living, breathing human beings and that is what people who simply want to “deal” with them fail to understand. When did all the harsh treatments start? Who contributed to the movement to improve their treatment? How has it improved? What laws have been passed? Who is responsible for this and, finally, what are their rights? First, when exactly did this harsh treatment begin? The first documented account of mental illness dates back to the 8th century BC. Many cultures view mental illness as a form of demonic possession or religious punishment. In Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Indian writings, mental illness was classified as a personal or religious problem. They felt like they couldn't be helped because they thought these mental lunatics were none other than themselves in that position. This mentality spread until the 1800s and unfortunately did not improve. The conditions of the “crazy poor” experienced during this period (and sometimes still do today) were not only insincere but inhumane. They were chained to wa...... middle of paper ......rewriting what was here)))Finally the rights of the mentally ill; the right to: The right to be informed about what is going on in their body, what medicines they are taking and how many. No person can undergo imposed psychological treatment. The patient can refuse any drug he does not want to take. The patient has the right to see a minister of his faith, and it is his right to a clean sanitary facility, to peaceful and undisturbed rest, it is the patient's right to be close to people of his age, the right to resign in any time and the right to be discharged without hesitation, without having committed any crime or misdemeanor, the right to be treated without discrimination based on race, sex, colour, language, political opinion, social origin and finally (the right that all people deserve ) The right to be treated as a dignified human being.