Photos: Insane Asylums Around the World

I am a mentally ill person from India and i can assure you that the condition of mentally ill people is horrible in India.Ofcourse there is a lot of poverty and misery in india but there are 130 million mentally ill people.these people are shunned and hated by Indian society.they are kept in sub-human conditions in asylums chained,beaten,given electric shocks and even urinated and defecated upon.I don't think the plight for mentally ill people is any better wordlwide but in India it is sickening.As a mentally ill person myself suffering from schizophrenia i think the United Nations should put sanctions on India for inhuman treatment of it's people 80% of whom are below poverty line.Also the Indian politicians and people should be killed,tortured,mutilated and eviscerated for their ugly behavior towards mentally ill people. I hope normal Indian people burn in hell for the horror they make their mentally ill brethren like me live in.,I don't mind being called insane or sick for what i have said but i hope India is bombed and destroyed,I will get happiness through that.

Guadalajara is a city within the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Dear god this is inhumane and criminal.

To Anonymous in India who says, ''It's simply the lack of money that's forcing state-run institutions to treat their patients like this'': I take issue with your interpretation of a lack of financial means as the cause of this state of affairs. I don't think kindness costs anything, and while I don't know anything about India, I do know something about another area that has not had a lot of means to help the mentally ill, the former Yugoslavia (where my family hails from and another area that has suffered poverty and, more importantly, lack of awareness), and I know its attitude to the mentally ill is not so forgiving. While lack of money quite obviously restricts the number of homes, attendants and specialists and the amount of food and other material resources available to treat these folks in lots of places, there is no shortage of potential kindness. It's fairly clear to me that a spirit of brotherly and sisterly love and empathy is not for sale, and is the one and only thing necessary to start the ball rolling, and at least begin to alleviate the spiritual and emotional (and perhaps the physical) suffering of the mentally ill. That spirit, however, is not in terrific abundance in societies that have institutionalized discrimination against those who just aren't pleasing to look at or of the 'right' class, let's say. That is a problem everywhere, including in North America, and including in my supposedly socialist-leaning and inclusive city, Vancouver, Canada, which tries haltingly to make life easier for the have-nots (and there are some terrific people in the field there who do excellent work, but they are just not supported by either politicians en masse or the general public), but whose municipal leaders have repeatedly turned their backs on the mentally ill, leaving them to languish on the streets and refusing to make the general citizenry more aware of the sources of these people's troubles, for example their homelessness and addictions. We could change our attitudes and give these people more substantial help, but we don't, and it's not because we lack money. It's a lack of empathy and generosity, and that really costs nothing. So why do we still discriminate against the mentally ill? Because of some invisible fear that creates an invisible caste system. And therein lies the problem. So before you absolve yourself of responsiblity on the grounds of pecuniary restraints, you might look to the less material and more spiritual and philosophical means by which the mentally ill in your country and mine are kept down.
--Maria

I heard somewhere that you can judge a country by the way people there treat their animals. Well, I hate to think that animals might get treated worse than any of the poor souls in these photographs. Anonymous in India seems to think that the U.S should take responsibilty for trying to improve conditions in foreign "asylums." Not so. We all know that it is difficult to care for the mentally disabled within the family, but it is deplorable - and unforgivable - to send them away to institutions like this. Do something about it if it is on your doorstep. Don't expect your neighbor to clear up your own mess.
triggerld
California

Dear Americans,
Its very easy to sit in your plush homes and talk about the deplorable manner in which these mentally ill people are being treated;
but try giving a thought as to how the families of these patients would cope in case these mental confinement homes were "shut down"- as you want them to be.
Attending to a mental patient most often requires the full time presence of atleast one
adult. do you suppose that all families are wealthy enough to afford
nurses and attendants? or have enough family members to take care of mentally ill family members.
Of course we also can see the lack of facilities for these patients, but what do you think we should do about it?
By criticising the facilities avialable , you are implying that medical practioners in these countries
are incable of taking adequate care of these patients, which is not quite correct.
Its simply the lack of money thats forcing state run institutoins to treat their patients like this.
Rather than critique whatever little facilities that are available,it would be far better
if you did something, like, offering the resources available to you, or perhaps going there and
trying to help directly.
Please dont comment on issues you have no clue about.
All you will end up doing is destroying the delicate balance that exists in the families of these patients.

Anonymous
India

Although drugs is not ALWAYS the solution because they have terrible harmful effects, think about how these mentally ill people function without any type of medication. Kudos to the photographer and sign me up. I'd be extremely interested in helping any which way I can.

As a mentally ill person (bipolar disorder) with a full and active home and job life, I am shocked and disturbed by the treatment of the mentally ill in other countries that Mr. Richards has shown us. Any one of those women pictured could be ME, and that's almost too much to wrap my head around. When I'm having a bad day, I'm going to remember these photos, and just how bad it could be.

Oh my goodness....these photographs are just disturbing. I mean, you can see all the emotion in the photos, but the surroundings these people have to live in is just terrible. The photographer was a very strong man to face all these things, because I know I would've probably burst into tears the second I saw these hospitals. I really hope people will start to think about the mentally ill and mentally disabled more, and see the struggles they have to go through that the government and everyone else tries to keep quiet.

Is true, the living in a asylums is horrible, but when you love to someone to have some disorder and the psychiatrist give you a terrible diagnostic, your live became to change for ever.

I have just viewed the horrific pictorial ???Shocking Treatment???, of mentally ill victims left to rot in asylums in various countries. I can only admire the strength the photographer, Eugene Richards had in capturing these emotional and gut-wrenching images. It brings to light the endless cruelty humans are still inflicting on the weaker, poorer and sicker people of our world.
Mental-illness is very real affliction, which will sadly affect the majority of us; stronger, fitter and richer people, at some stage in our lives, whether it be through ailments like stress, a breakdown, or just old age. It needs to be recognised and accepted by us all, and is our duty to the human race to support ways in finding cures for these undignified and excruciating diseases. And in the meantime protect those suffering with at least dignified living conditions.

Many thanks for your excellent effort in bringing this issue back to my and others attention.

I have just viewed the horrific pictorial ???Shocking Treatment???, of mentally ill victims left to rot in asylums in various countries. I can only admire the strength the photographer, Eugene Richards had in capturing these emotional and gut-wrenching images. It brings to light the endless cruelty humans are still inflicting on the weaker, poorer and sicker people of our world.
Mental-illness is very real affliction, which will sadly affect the majority of us; stronger, fitter and richer people, at some stage in our lives, whether it be through ailments like stress, a breakdown, or just old age. It needs to be recognised and accepted by us all, and is our duty to the human race to support ways in finding cures for these undignified and excruciating diseases. And in the meantime protect those suffering with at least dignified living conditions.

Many thanks for your excellent effort in bringing this issue back to my and others attention.