Early history. References to mental disorders in early Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings show that the physicians and the philosophers who contemplated problems of human behaviour regarded mental illnesses as a reflection of the displeasure of the gods or as evidence of demoniac possession. Only a few realized that sufferers from mental illnesses should be treated humanely rather than exorcised, punished, or banished. Certain Greek medical writers, however, notably Hippocrates (flourished 400 BC), regarded mental disorders as diseases to be understood in terms of disturbed physiology. Hippocrates and his followers emphasized natural causes, clinical observation, and brain pathology in the study of mental disorders. Later Greek medical writers, including those who practiced in Imperial Rome, set out treatment programs for mental illness, including quiet, occupation, and the use of drugs such as the purgative hellebore. It is probable that most psychotic people during ancient times were cared for by their families and that those who were thought to be dangerous to themselves or others were detained at home by relatives or hired keepers.

During the early Middle Ages in Europe, primitive thinking about mental illness reemerged, and witchcraft and demonology were used to account for the symptoms and behaviour of psychotic people. At least some of the insane were looked after by the religious orders, who offered care for the sick generally. The empirical and quasi-scientific Greek tradition in medicine was maintained not by the Europeans but by the Muslim Arabs, who are usually credited with the establishment of asylums for the mentally ill in the Middle East as early as the 8th century. In medieval Europe in general it seems that the madman was allowed his liberty, provided he was not regarded as dangerous. The founding of the first hospital in Europe devoted entirely to the care of the insane occured in Granada, in Spain, in 1365-67. From the 17th century onward in Europe there was a growing tendency to isolate deviant people, including the insane, from the rest of society. Thus, such socially unwanted people as the mentally ill were confined together with the handicapped, vagrants, and delinquents. Those of the insane who were regarded as violent were often chained to the wall and were treated in a barbarous and inhumane way.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the development of European medicine and the rise of empirical methods of medicoscientific inquiry were paralleled by an improvement in public attitudes toward the mentally ill, which only began to emerge toward the end of that period. By the end of the 18th century, however, concern over the care of the insane had become so great among educated people in Europe and North America that governments were forced to act. After the French Revolution the Physician Philippe Pinel was placed in charge of the Bicêtre, the hospital for the mentally ill in Paris. Under Pinel's supervision a completely new approach to the handling of mental patients was introduced. Chains and shackles were removed from the patients, and in place of dungeons they were provided with sunny rooms and were permitted to exercise on the hospital grounds. Among other reformers were the British Quaker layman William Tuke, who established the York Retreat for the humane care of the mentally ill in 1796, and the physician Vincenzo Chiarugi, who published a humanitarian regime for his hospital in Florence in 1788. In the mid-19th century Dorothea Dix carried on a campaign to arouse the public to the inhumane conditions that prevailed in American mental hospitals, and her efforts led to widespread reforms both in the United States and elsewhere.

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which are not a part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental health conditions has changed over time and across cultures, and there are still variations in the definition, assessment, and classification of mental disorders, although standard guideline criteria are widely accepted. A few mental disorders are diagnosed based on the harm to others, regardless of the subject's perception of distress. Over a third of people in most countries report meeting criteria for the major categories at some point in their lives.

The causes are often explained in terms of a diathesis-stress model or biopsychosocial model. In biological psychiatry, mental disorders are conceptualized as disorders of brain circuits likely caused by developmental processes shaped by a complex interplay of genetics and experience.

Services are based in psychiatric hospitals or in the community. Diagnoses are made by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists using various methods, often relying on observation and questioning in interviews. Treatments are provided by various mental health professionals. Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options as are social interventions, peer support and self-help. In some cases there may be involuntary detention and involuntary treatment where legislation allows.

Stigma and discrimination add to the suffering associated with the disorders, and have led to various social movements attempting to increase acceptance.

Adjective

crazy (comparative crazier, superlative craziest)

1. insane, demented
2. out of control

   When she gets on the motorcycle she goes crazy.

3. overly excited or enthusiastic

   He went crazy when he won.

4. filled with foolish or unreasoned affection

   Why is she so crazy about him?

• Wikisaurus:insane
• (out of control): off the chain

The synonyms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the word above. Each synonym should appear in each sense for which it is appropriate. Use the template {{|"gloss"}}, substituting a short version of the definition.

• deranged
• zany
• loco

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