The History of Manic Depression

Known today as bipolar disorder, manic depression is a serious mental health disorder. More than 6 million people in the United States suffer from this condition, which is characterized by periods of mood extremes. Several levels of bipolar disorder exist, but their identifications and classifications would not have been possible without the efforts of Emil Kraeplin.

Manic Depression Overview

• Before examining the history of bipolar disorder, understanding the disorder itself is important. The disorder was named manic depression because sufferers had mood extremes called manic and depressive states. The depressive state is similar to clinical depression: the person feels lethargic, hopeless and possibly suicidal. The manic state, however, is marked by risk-taking behavior, racing thoughts and sometimes hallucinations and violence. Both states require treatment. However, people who have bipolar disorder are more likely to seek help during a depressive episode.

Ancient Writings on Manic Depression

• Although the disorder lacked a formal name, its symptoms were described many centuries before it would be officially added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), used by modern psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose mental health issues. In the 16th century, for example, Gao Lian described the symptoms in his book the Eight Treatises on the Nurturing of Life. Long before that book, other writers had also described the condition. An Egyptian medical writer nearly 2,000 years ago recognized a condition he described with two extreme moods: mania and melancholia.

Manic Depression Identified

• During the 1850s, manic depression became officially recognized as a mental disorder. Two psychiatrists came up with descriptions of the disorder in France and presented these descriptions within days of one another. While both descriptions mentioned the presence of these extreme moods, both psychiatrists chose different names for the disorder: circular insanity and dual-form insanity. The term manic depression was chosen by a third psychiatrist whose contributions to the study of the disorder are considered more influential.

Emil Kraeplin & Manic Depression

• Kraeplin worked as a psychiatrist in Germany and has been credited as the official classifier of mental health disorders. At the turn of the 20th century, he was describing patients who were suffering from the mood changes as suffering from manic depression psychosis. He noted not only the mood extremes but also the extended periods of symptom-free behavior that existed between the extreme periods. Kraeplin was also one of the first psychiatrists to believe biological problems were the cause of mental disorders, such as manic depression. Most of his contemporaries followed in the footsteps of Sigmund Freud and blamed psychological problems as the cause.

Manic Depression Today

• The treatment of bipolar disorder (the "bi" in the name is a reference to the two mood extremes) has come a long way since Kraeplin. In the mid-20th century, doctors discovered lithium could help stabilize the moods of people who had the disorder. Lithium became the first drug to be recognized as useful in the treatment of any mental condition. With even more advanced treatments and more awareness of the condition, people who have manic depression can lead normal, productive and happy lives.