What we recognize today as depression was, in the Victorian era, popularly known as
The term “depression” came into use in the 19th century, originally as “mental depression,” to describe lowering of spirits, and came to replace melancholia as a diagnosis.
Depression was initially called "melancholia". The earliest accounts of melancholia appeared in ancient Mesopotamian texts in the second millennium B.C. At this time, all mental illnesses were attributed to demonic possession, and were attended to by priests.
History of Depression in the Age of Enlightenment
During the 18th and 19th centuries, also called the Age of Enlightenment, depression came to be viewed as a weakness in temperament that was inherited and could not be changed.
In the 19th century opium was recommended and held its ground well into the middle of our century. Various methods and drugs were recommended and used for the therapy of depression in the 19th century, such as baths and massage, ferrous iodide, arsenic, ergot, strophantin, and cinchona.
What we recognize today as depression was, in the Victorian era, popularly known as melancholia or melancholy. The name "melancholia" comes from the old medical belief in the four humours.
In early 19th century America, care for the mentally ill was almost non-existent: the afflicted were usually relegated to prisons, almshouses, or inadequate supervision by families. Treatment, if provided, paralleled other medical treatments of the time, including bloodletting and purgatives.
From the 19th century into the 20th century, the terms used to diagnose generalized anxiety included “pantophobia” and “anxiety neurosis.” Such terms designated paroxysmal manifestations (panic attacks) as well as interparoxysmal phenomenology (the apprehensive mental state).
Mental illness was recognised as something that might be cured or at least alleviated. It was no longer acceptable to keep poor mentally ill people in workhouses and prisons, so state provision of asylums became mandatory.
During the 19th century, mental health disorders were not recognized as treatable conditions. They were perceived as a sign of madness, warranting imprisonment in merciless conditions.
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.
The first recorded instance of the disease was written in Mesopotamian texts in the second century B.C. Understandings of mental illnesses were rudimentary, at best. Ancient Mesopotamians, Chinese, and Egyptian civilizations thought demonic influences caused depression.
The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the economic expansion of the Roaring Twenties came to an end. A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction.
During the short depression that lasted from 1920 to 1921, known as the Forgotten Depression, the U.S. stock market fell by nearly 50%, and corporate profits declined by over 90%. 1 The U.S. economy enjoyed robust growth during the rest of the decade.
The pressures of survival and reproduction were high. Because of that, evolutionary psychologists believe that early humans did experience mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
What Caused the Great Depression? Throughout the 1920s, the U.S. economy expanded rapidly, and the nation's total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, a period dubbed “the Roaring Twenties.”
A lunatic, could be, 'a mentally ill person with periods of lucidity', lunacy as involving fewer impairments than 'imbecile' or 'idiot'. Idiots were defined as natural fools from birth.
Mental Health Treatment Landscape in the 1700s
It was a common belief that the mentally ill were dangerous and should be kept away from society and hidden from their families and communities. Asylums became widespread during the 1700s. Such institutions were often inhumane, not to mention overcrowded and unclean.
Religious obsession, physical illness, tragic events, or love affairs were all stated causes of madness for women in this period. From 1858, some women were even incarcerated for asking for a divorce! And for pauper women, without home or money, there was often no escape from the asylum.
What was previously known as melancholia and is now known as clinical depression, major depression, or simply depression and commonly referred to as major depressive disorder by many health care professionals, has a long history, with similar conditions being described at least as far back as classical times.
Between classical antiquity and modem psychiatry, there was an interval of centuries when the concept of anxiety as an illness seems to have disappeared from written records. Patients with anxiety did exist, but they were diagnosed with other diagnostic terms.
With so little power, control, and independence, depression, anxiety, and stress were common among Victorian women struggling to cope with a static existence under the thumb of strict gender ideals and unyielding patriarchy.
In 1800, mania was conceptualized as an agitated psychotic state. By 1900, it closely resembled its modern form.
The earliest known record of mental illness in ancient China dates back to 1100 B.C. Mental disorders were treated mainly under Traditional Chinese Medicine using herbs, acupuncture or "emotional therapy".