Is it hard to simulate insanity? Brave journalist Nellie Bly was the first who proved it is not. And the conditions in an asylum for mentally ill shocked her.
Nellie Bly was a pioneer of investigative journalism. She was born in 1864 and, unlike other women, wanted to have a career. Nellie became a journalist, but she didn’t want to write about fashion and gardening. She preferred to write about politics and human rights. Nellie Bly was famous for working undercover. One of her tasks was to inspect a mental hospital. There were stories about terrible conditions in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. However, there was no proof and nobody ever got back from the asylum.
Nellie decided to stay in the hospital for 10 days. Her editor promised to help her to get out of there. She was afraid, that it would be hard for her to act insane and that doctors with their experience would reveal that she wasn’t mentally ill. She practised making «crazy faces» in her mirror. Nellie stopped washing and brushing her teeth. The next day she started to play insanity in a woman’s boarding house. Quite soon, her nervous behaviour disturbed other women and they called for the doctor.
Nellie Bly met with several doctors and convinced them that she was incurable. They asked her some questions, but as Nellie wrote later, it meant nothing. They were already sure that she was insane and that nothing could be done. She was sent to the hospital where her behaviour returned to normal.
The more sanely she talked the crazier she was thought to be. The conditions in the hospital were terrifying. Women were given barely edible food – old and dirty bread and spoiled meat. The bath was icy cold. Women were given short blankets, so they froze all night long. Doctors were uncaring and nurses were cruel. Women could be beaten for any misbehaviour. Uncontrollable women were just tied up.
No therapeutic activities were conducted. Patients were forced to sit for several hours on the bench without moving or talking. Nellie met a lot of women who weren’t mentally ill. Mostly they were poor or didn’t speak English to prove that they were sane. The asylum became a prison for them.
After 10 days, anxious and depressed Nellie Bly was released. She wrote a book about the 10 days in the asylum. It was a hit, and a grand jury launched an investigation. When the investigators came, the hospital staff tried to cover up the truth. The hospital became cleaner and fresh bread was added. Women who talked with a journalist were moved to other hospitals. The grand jury recommended increasing the budget of the hospitals. The articles of Nellie Bly made a difference and overnight she became a famous journalist.