Not Quite Human

Some of the ancient theories on mental illness up through the Renaissance led to diagnoses and treatments that caused stigmatization in society. Goffman used the term “spoiled identity" to refer to the stigma that often resulted from the label of mental illness, whether one was accused of being under a witch's curse, a demonic possession, or possessing a "stone of madness" inside the skull. These diagnoses could lead to treatments such as exorcism or other spiritual interventions, and the witch marks were often referred to as "stigmata." As Stephen Hinshaw explains, "Stigmata were the numb, insensitive portions of the skin of the accused, signifying that the Devil had taken possession of the body and soul. Identifying stigmata was therefore a crucial aspect of the 'diagnosis' of witches" (24). 

There were also more physical cures like trepanning, where a hole would be drilled into the skull, either to remove the "stone of madness" or to make room for demons to escape. 

Even once "cured," the afflicted would have difficulties escaping their stigma, especially if they carried the visual markings of their treatments. As Goffman explains, "By definition, of course, we believe the person with a stigma is not quite human. On this assumption we exercise varieties of discrimination, through which we effectively, if often unthinkingly, reduce his life chances. We construct a stigma-theory, an ideology to explain his inferiority and account for the danger he represents, sometimes rationalizing an animosity based on other differences, such as those of social class...We tend to impute a wide range of imperfections on the basis of the original one...Further, we may perceive his defensive response to his situation as a direct expression of his defect, and then see both defect and response as just retribution for something he or his parents or his tribe did, and hence a justification of the way we treat him" (Goffman, 1963, pages 5-6) and "Shame becomes a central possibility, arising from the individual's perception of one of his own attributes as being a defiling thing to possess, and one he can readily see himself as not possessing" (Goffman, 1963, page 7).