Yet except for the moslems of Arabia who found a spiritual meaning in their abnormal state and treated them as spiritually blessed, most societies have traditionally viewed them as the cursed, bodies deserted by their spirits, violators of sacred laws, or people possessed by the devil--even incarnations of the devil himself. They have faced brutal punishments, such as death by burning.
但除了信奉回教的阿拉伯人將精神病患視為受神恩惠，透過錯亂狀態來顯示神意者，因而善待他們外；多數民族將精神病人視為魔鬼附身、惡魔的化身、遭人詛咒、靈魂離體、觸犯禁忌… …，施以燒、殺等不人道的酷刑。