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What Is the History of Depression?

The concept of mental illness has evolved over the centuries, with input and classifications provided from a number of different fields. Because depression and similar conditions were difficult to classify, they were often lumped together in a single category of inquiry. Throughout this evolutionary process, religion, culture, politics and science played significant roles in developing our understanding of depression.

  1. Religious Influences

    • In ancient civilizations, phenomena that could not be explained by the senses were considered the result of supernatural forces. People who exhibited unusual behaviors or unusual mood states were thought to be possessed by demons. This religious orientation persisted throughout the era before Christ and for several centuries thereafter. From about 460 BC to 43 BC, philosophers such as Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero thought bodily ailments caused depression. But many still believed in the influence of the mystical realm.

    Holistic Perspectives

    • From 30 to 90 AD, the philosopher Arateus was the first to explain mental disorders as the result of a holistic imbalance within the body and mind. Arateus was also the first to hint at the existence of personalities and mood states. By the fourth century AD, Christianity had established itself as a prominent force within the Roman Empire. With it came the re-emergence of beliefs in the supernatural as cause for the appearance of mental illness in society. This line of thinking continued into the Middle Ages.

    The Age of Reason

    • By the 17th century, societal attitudes had become more sophisticated and open. During this time, known as The Era of Reason and Observation, the philosopher Robert Burton authored a book titled "Anatomy of Melancholy." Melancholy was the term used to describe depression. Burton examined psychological disorders in detail, relating issues of poverty, isolation and fear as contributing factors to the emergence of depression.

    The Age of Science

    • As discoveries within the worlds of science and medicine increased, scientists began to take a closer look at mental illness in terms of what role the body played. By the 19th century, scientist Wilhelm Griesinger was one of the first to view depression as caused by a disease in the brain. Griesinger viewed the fields of neuropathology and psychiatry as one and the same and so set the stage for Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical approach.

    Psychotherapy's Beginning

    • The advent of psychoanalysis marked the beginnings of how depression is viewed and treated today. Freud's theory, based on principles from neurophysiology and psychology, emerged during the start of the 20th century and lasted well into the 1970s. Freud was the first to treat the patient as an individual and used a motivational approach, called psychotherapy, to treat his patients. Today, biochemical and genetic factors are more closely studied, and psychotherapy and medication are the treatment methods most used.

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