“Physicians and psychiatrists-to say nothing of patients suffering from psychic disorders-have long searched for pharmacological ways to ease emotional suffering, even if that suffering could never be medicated away entirely. In the Victorian era, the drug of choice was laudanum, a high-octane mix of ethanol and opium that packed just the chemical wallop it sounds it would. The drug was used as a painkiller, an antidepressant and an anti-hysteric, and it often worked quite well-provided you overlooked the fact that it was also wildly addictive and frequently lethal.”
Medicines have been used in the treatment of mental illnesses for thousands of years. In the past herbs along with forms of magic might have been used to try to alleviate mental health problems. Opium is a drug that has been used for centuries, since the days of Jesus by the Greeks, in the battle that many faced even then for mental balance.
Opium was used for both pain relief, and relief from depression, anxieties and other mental health disorders throughout history, from pre-Christian times, until recently. It’s use continued throughout the centuries until the 1700s and 1800s when it had become a popular over-the-counter drug that was used not only to help calm a person’s nerves, but also used in many children’s elixir’s as an aid with crying fits or tantrums. [1]
Opium fell out of mainstream use in the earlier part of the 20th century, and along with it, the over the counter use of cocaine with the passing of laws that limited their use. Some painkillers today and other psychiatric medications are opiate based or have a similar chemical structure. Some psychiatric medications have a similar chemical structure to heroin, although its administration and use is different.
Cocaine and Amphetamines
Cocaine was commonly used not only for its mood elevating effects, but also was even added to Coca-Cola up until the early 1900s. It was part of the picker-upper in the popular soft drink. With stricter drug laws, the potent coco leaves were replaced with impotent leaves, taking the stimulant effect out of Coke around the year 1904.
From http://www.winmentalhealth.com/opium_…
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