A popular corruption of the name of the early London asylum of St. Mary of Bethlehem to describe a chaotic situation as to the perceived condition of the asylum.<\/p>\n
The shortened name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, an institution for the mentally ill established in London in 1547. In the 18th century, Bedlam became a notable attraction in London, drawing visitors from far and wide who came to observe the behavior of the mentally ill residents. Some of these individuals were confined in cages and put on display for a fee. Occasionally, a few of these insane individuals were released and wandered the countryside, seeking alms. They were recognizable by a special badge and became known as “Tom O’Bedlams.” At that time, there were no medications, padded cells, or other gentle means of restraint available. When a resident experienced a violent episode, they were repeatedly submerged in deep water tanks until they became exhausted and partly drowned, rendering them physically and mentally subdued.<\/p>\n
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A popular corruption of the name of the early London asylum of St. Mary of Bethlehem to describe a chaotic situation as to the perceived condition of the asylum. The shortened name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, an institution for the mentally ill established in London in 1547. In the 18th century, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b"],"yoast_head":"\n