Patient - Jane Hyland
Type of Insanity – Melancholia
Jane Hyland was born on 22nd October 1829, and was baptised a
month later at All Saints with St Johns Baptist Church, in Huntingdon.
Her Irish father, William worked as a gardener and died in 1846,
when Jane was just seventeen. With seven other children for her
mother, Susannah, to look after, money would have been hard to
come by. Those children of working age would have been expected
to go out to work and help support the family. Jane, like other girls of
her class, went into domestic service.
When she was first admitted to the Bedford Asylum, on May 3rd
1849, aged just nineteen, she was listed as a servant and suffering
from Melancholia with no known cause. But Jane was in good
health. She was kept at Bedford Asylum for five years before she
was discharged, recovered, on 11th July 1854.
Jane’s recovery was to not to last long, as she was admitted back
to Bedford Asylum less than a year later, on 1st July 1855. Again,
Jane was suffering from melancholia, with this attack having lasted
two days. Her recovery was much quicker this time with only forty-six
days needed for her to be discharged, recovered, on 6th August of
the same year.
Less than two years later, Jane was readmitted to Bedford Asylum
for the final time, on 7th February 1857. Once more, Jane suffered
from Melancholia, this attack lasted two weeks before she was
admitted.
When Jane was transferred to the Three Counties she was listed
as being aged thirty, single and was last working as a domestic
servant. Her general health was described as good with her mental
disease now changed to mania with attacks of hysteria. Jane had
become violent and destructive and had been insane for the last
three years.
Hysteria was classed as a woman’s problem, with symptoms
differing from patient to patient, but they included faintness,
nervousness, insomnia, fluid retention, chronic anxiety, nervousness
and heaviness in the abdomen. Patients may suffer from emotional
outbursts and various urges of the sexual variety. They may also
suffer loss of appetite for food and sometimes sex, and have a
tendency to cause trouble. It was thought hysteria was caused by
movement of the womb. Treatment during attacks included bed rest,
bland food and mercury known as calomel, which was a highly toxic
medicine that would keep the patient in an induced state of nausea,
(this was said to keep the violent episodes to a minimum), cold
baths, seclusion and leeches that would be placed on the labia or
massage to the genital area until orgasm, which was said to relieve
the attack.
The first medical examination we have in
Jane’s notes are for the 7th January 1865,
when she was described as being subjected
to hysterical attacks, but was not violent with
her general health was good. In October, her
general health was still described as being
good and her mental health was much more
manageable. She remained about the same
until December 1871. It was then that she
wa