Rest Cure Research Paper

Although, people claimed the “rest cure” developed by S. Weir Mitchell was effective, in many cases it triggered a bad response in the mental health of the patients and it damaged the individual (Poirier 15). Patients were asked to keep their opinions, emotions, unconformities and interrogations for themselves, and to ignore them. In this way, the physician would gain total control over the sick person. This person, was asked to rest for several weeks and in different levels, depending on how serious their problem was. They were not allowed to do any type of activity other than lay in bed, and were ordered to take some medication to help them relax. Additionally, the patient was alienated from their usual environment, including their family,
Weir Mitchell tried to help mentally ill patients by alienating them from their usual life, however the isolation they were forced into had the complete opposite effect than what was desired. In The Yellow Wallpaper, John’s wife is treated in almost the same way of the “rest cure”, in fact John tells his wife, he is going to send her to Weir Mitchell if she does not get better, something that she is not happy about (Gilman 90). She says that two of her friends-which were treated by Mitchell in the past- told her that he was even worse than her husband and her brother. At the time, women were prescribed the same treatment regardless their mental illnesses. This displays the deficiency in the knowledge of
Nevertheless, the lack of social interaction has big repercussion in someone’s life, both emotionally and physically (Secrets of a Wild Child). Jane is isolated in her room with no social contact that can take her mind from thinking about the wallpaper. Moreover, John refuses to take her out of the house to interact with other people, perhaps because he feels ashamed of her condition. Two times Jane asks her husband to let her visit her cousin Henry and Julia, but he denies answering “he would as soon put fireworks in [her] pillow-case as to let [her] have those stimulating people about now.”(Gilman 92) and Jane also says “he said I wasn't able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had finished.” (Gilman 95). Although, he expresses that it is for her own good, it almost feels like he does not want other people to see her because he feels embarrassed of her illness. This isolation eventually separates her from the real world and she gets lost in the patterns. With nothing to think about during the day, Jane constantly stresses about every little detail of the yellow wallpaper. She does not have a single moment of peace and she starts to act in a possessive manner towards the pattern, not allowing others to touch it or look at it. Additionally, her condition worsens as she starts to have sleep problems. At the end, she isolates herself