"Rest cure treatment" was a medical treatment popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries primarily for women suffering from symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, and depression. The rest cure was developed by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, a neurologist, in the late 19th century. The treatment typically involved a strict regimen of bed rest, isolation from mental and physical stimulation, limited social interaction, and a highly regulated diet. Patients were often confined to bed for weeks or even months at a time, with minimal physical activity and intellectual stimulation. the treatment was controversial and had mixed results. While some patients reported improvement in their symptoms, others experienced worsening mental health and physical debilitation due to prolonged inactivity and social isolation. It is now considered outdated and potentially harmful in many cases.
Perkins-Gilman married Charles Stetson in 1884, and less than a year later gave birth to their daughter Katharine. Already susceptible to depression, her symptoms were exacerbated by marriage and motherhood. A good proportion of her diary entries from the time she gave birth to her daughter until several years later describe the oncoming depression that she was to face.[11]
After nine weeks, Gilman was sent home with Mitchell's instructions, "Live as domestic a life as possible. Have your child with you all the time ... Lie down an hour after each meal. Have but two hours' intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live." She tried for a few months to follow Mitchell's advice, but her depression deepened, and Gilman came perilously close to a full emotional collapse.[12] Her remaining sanity was on the line and she began to display suicidal behavior that involved talk of pistols and chloroform, as recorded in her husband's diaries. By early summer the couple had decided that a divorce was necessary for her to regain sanity without affecting the lives of her husband and daughter.[13]
During the summer of 1888, Charlotte and Katharine spent time in Bristol, Rhode Island, away from Walter, and it was there where her depression began to lift. She writes of herself noticing positive changes in her attitude. She returned to Providence in September. She sold property that had been left to her in Connecticut, and went with a friend, Grace Channing, to Pasadena where the recovery of her depression can be seen through the transformation of her intellectual life.[14]
Along with many women during the late 19th century, Perkins-Gilman dealt with the trauma of the rest cure treatment due to the lack of societal attitudes, limited understanding of mental health, and the authority of the medical profession. However, as awareness and understanding of mental health improved over time, the rest cure fell out of favor, recognized as an outdated and potentially harmful approach to treatment.
