Treatments to Improve Mental Health

Displayed above are various products commonly found in stores in the 2000’s. Pictured in the center is a clay face mask, designed to help clear out pores and rid the face of any dirt or oils on the skin. These face masks are meant to prevent acne and imperfections of the skin, and leave one’s face feeling clean and smooth. To the left of the face mask, there is a depiction of a product called a ‘bath bomb.’ This product is meant to be dropped into a warm bath to make the water smell good, change into a certain color, bubble up, and even hydrate the skin depending on the type of bath bomb it is. The last objects on display to the far right are yoga mats, meant for exercising and practicing yoga, an ancient technique often used as an alternative to exercise that is meant to improve mental and physical wellbeing.

A common phrase in the early 2000’s is “treat yourself,” in which there is a focus on one indulging on little luxuries and taking time to oneself to help improve mental health. All these objects are different ways that people can do this, resulting in the belief that the person doing these things will be happier and healthier following this. Various studies have proven that this truly is the case and that these self-care techniques have actually helped reduce feelings of anxiety. One example of this is shown by a study in Japan that analyzed the effect of yoga on mental health. Each participant that practiced yoga showed reduced levels of anxiety following it. Anxiety is distinguished from melancholy in its descriptions and diagnoses; however, it remains associated with melancholy and is not uncommon to see people suffering from both feelings of melancholy and anxiety. Anxiety as it often is a catalyst for feelings of depression or despondency and melancholy has been described to cause feelings of fear in those affected by it. Hippocrates described melancholy symptoms to be divided into two categories, one of which was fear and the other which was despondency. This fear stemming from melancholy overlaps into anxiety. By doing yoga and other self-care practices, people who are suffering from melancholy can help reduce these negative emotions and in turn improve their temperaments. Additionally, Timothy Bright, a seventeenth-century physician, mentions melancholy to be the cause of fear and distrust of others. Taking a nice warm bath, doing a face mask, or doing yoga are all natural 21st-century practices that studies have shown serve as a temporary remedy for this feeling of melancholy.

If an ancient doctor or intellectual were to look at these remedies, they would likely deem them as methods to help balance out the four humors in some way. A bath bomb and face mask both cleanse the body, ridding it of excess dirt and oils. Performing yoga techniques also serves to benefit the body's wellbeing and physical state. While these objects displayed are much more recent trends, similar suggestions for remedies can be seen from past physicians researching melancholy. In the following exhibit, you will be able to see these underlying trends in treatments for melancholy that have carried over across decades, as well as various differences in the science behind these treatments as well.