Depression in the Past

25
Learn About Depression in the Past positivetranceformations.com.au

description

In Hippocrates’ time, the blame for a tendency towards depression was put on an imbalance of the four “bodily humours” (blood, black bile, bile and phlegm) where black bile (the Greek for this gives us the word “melancholy”) was found in excess. Today, we know that they weren’t far wrong.

Transcript of Depression in the Past

Page 1: Depression in the Past

Learn About Depression in the Past

positivetranceformations.com.au

Page 2: Depression in the Past

Oddly enough, a lot of what we can learn about depression in the past comes from

literature.

Page 3: Depression in the Past

For some reason, a tendency towards melancholy often seemed to be associated with the ability to write well – it was part of

the poetic temperament.

Page 4: Depression in the Past

Poet after poet wrote rather introspective works about what it felt like to be in the black depths of melancholy or depression.

Page 5: Depression in the Past

Perhaps we could take a leaf out of their books and turn to journaling as a form of

self-expression and therapy.

Page 6: Depression in the Past

The list of poets who seemed to suffer from depression in some form or other (at least if their poetic works are anything to go by)

reads like a list of the great authors of the English language:

Page 7: Depression in the Past

John Donne, John Milton, John Keats, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Gerald Manley Hopkins and possibly even Samuel Coleridge

as well.

Page 8: Depression in the Past

However, you don’t have to be as good a poet as they were to benefit from getting your

feeling and thoughts out on paper.

Page 9: Depression in the Past

The first major scientific work on melancholy or depression was written in

1621 by the philosopher Richard Burton.

Page 10: Depression in the Past

his work’s full title was the rather unwieldy “The Anatomy of Melancholy: What it is, with all the Kinds, Causes, Symptoms, Prognostics & the Several

Cures of it,

Page 11: Depression in the Past

in Three Partitions, with their Several Sections, Numbers and Subsections,

Philosophically, Medicinally and Historically Opened and Cut up”. We’ll call it the Anatomy of Melancholy for short!

Page 12: Depression in the Past

If you can handle the old-fashioned English and a few bits and pieces of Latin (some of which are

translated), then you can read it for yourself at

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10800/10800-h/10800-h.htm.

Page 13: Depression in the Past

This work investigates what we would call depression, drawing on all branches of

science that were known at that time. It’s quite a big work – you have been warned!

Page 14: Depression in the Past

Some of the cures listed by Burton are quite interesting.

Page 15: Depression in the Past

In agreement with many modern thinkers, he claims that diet can be used to treat

melancholy and (in his terms) balance out the bodily humours.

Page 16: Depression in the Past

Some of the things that he suggests as suitable items of diet include chicken, mutton,

wheat bread, plain water, apples and oranges,

Page 17: Depression in the Past

which is all very well, but he has a huge long list of forbidden foods that include a lot that doctors today would consider to be very

healthy (cucumbers and cabbage, for example).

Page 18: Depression in the Past

He also suggested eating food in moderation and in season, which today’s naturopaths

would agree with heartily.

Page 19: Depression in the Past

Other cures include moderate exercise, baths, fresh air and an active love life.

Page 20: Depression in the Past

And the best sort of exercise, according to Burton, is exercise that works the mind as

well as the body and is fun to do.

Page 21: Depression in the Past

Music is also recommended to ease a troubled mind, whether you play it or listen to it. All

good advice!

Page 22: Depression in the Past

He also states that “Whosoever… shall hope to cure this malady in himself or any other,

must first rectify these passions and perturbations of the mind: the chiefest cure

consists in them.

Page 23: Depression in the Past

A quiet mind… is the only pleasure of the world,” indicating that a troubled mind is one of the biggest caused of depression (yes, they knew that back in the 1600s!),

Page 24: Depression in the Past

and suggests that people seek help by getting rid of obsessive and negative thoughts – which is precisely the sort of thing that

hypnosis and hypnotherapy try to do.

Page 25: Depression in the Past

http://positivetranceformations.com.au