Dorothea Dix - Revolutionizing the Perception of Mental Illness

                Dorothea Dix was a 19th-century social reformer who played a major role in changing society's perception of mental illness. She was born in Hampden, Maine in 1802 to a mentally ill mother and abusive father, both of whom also suffered from alcoholism. As a result of her rocky childhood, Dix moved to Boston where she attended school shortly and became a tutor, yet faced many periods of physical illness and depression that forced her to leave teaching. Doctors suggested to Dix that she spend time in Europe during the 1830s, which is where she became inspired to make reforms on behalf of the disadvantaged.
                Due to her new interest in improving the care of the mentally ill, Dix toured several mental hospitals upon her return to the United States and tried to report her findings to state legislatures as a way to introduce the issue of mental hospital conditions into political consciousness. She pushed for mental disorders to be introduced into political consciousness. She wanted others to see that mental disorders are treatable illnesses rather than outright madness that called for inhumane treatment and imprisonment. Overtime, Dix established mental asylums in Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, and even introduced the Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane which planned to establish a national mental hospital, however, this was vetoed by President Franklin Pierce. She also instigated reform at Massachusetts' only state mental hospital, the Worcester Insane Asylum. Between 1843 and 1880, Dix made great progress by establishing 32 mental health hospitals in the aforementioned states as well as New York, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Tennessee while simultaneously working to improve the conditions of many more.
                Dix put a new kind of emphasis on the importance of caring for the mentally ill by championing the idea of healthcare as a basic right and humanizing those who are put at a disadvantage in society. As a woman in the 19th century working to create such pivotal change, the constraints on females such as being told to avoid experiences of degradation or suffering contradicted and initially limited her actions. However, Dix worked against common perceptions of femininity and gave herself a sense of power by putting to shame politicians who failed to support her work. With the help of her own experiences from childhood regarding mental illness, Dix continued . to dedicate herself as much as she could for decades to provide for society's unwanted and those in need. She even contributed to the Civil War effort as an army nurse, which eventually led her to earn the title of Superintendent of Army Nurses in 1861. Until 1866, she maintained her position and spent time helping families relocate men lost in the war until she returned to her work for mental health in 1867. Over the course of her forty-year career, Dix became an extremely important, selfless figure in fighting for the passing of bills for the humane treatment of the mentally ill, amassing reform in fourteen states.
              Dix's life is evidence of commitment to supporting those put at a great disadvantage by society. She became the voice for so many mentally ill who were horribly mistreated and imprisoned, both physically and symbolically through years of being shut down and dehumanized. Dix was one of the first to shed light on abuses in the flawed healthcare system, spreading her great influence throughout the United States and beyond.

Sources
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dorothea-dix
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317321.phphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470530/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317321.php
https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/dix-dorothea