Egodocumenten van psychiatrische patiënten uit de negentiende eeuw

Samenvatting

Autobiographies of psychiatric patients in the nineteenth century. Up till now little attention has been paid to the biographies and experiences of psychiatric patients in the historiography of psychiatry. Autobiographical writings of patients can be used as sources of information for research of patients' experiences. The author analyses the informative value of these sources on the basis of twelve nineteenth century autobiographies. Prerequisites and motives for writing autobiographical texts are elucidated as well as difficulties with the interpretation of these documents. The way in which these documents offer insight into the hallucinations and feelings of the patient is described. Finally, some examples are given of the information that can be found in autobiographies about daily life in asylums.