When did altered states become medicalized?
Short Answer
Altered states became medicalized during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when psychiatric institutions began classifying non-ordinary consciousness as pathological conditions requiring medical intervention.
Why This Matters
This medicalization occurred because emerging psychiatric disciplines needed to establish professional authority and legitimacy within scientific medicine. The process transformed culturally accepted spiritual and ritualistic practices into symptoms of mental illness, leading to the systematic suppression of indigenous healing traditions. Medical institutions gained control over consciousness experiences that had previously been managed by religious or community leaders, fundamentally reshaping how societies understood and responded to altered states.
Where This Changes
The medicalization varies significantly across cultures, with some societies maintaining traditional frameworks alongside medical models. Contemporary psychedelic research and integrative medicine approaches are beginning to challenge purely pathological interpretations of certain altered states.
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