|
Depression Timeline
|
Antiquity |
Depression is considered a symptom of demonic possession. |
|
|
|
400 BC
|
Depression is naturalised and rationalised as a physical illness by the ancient Greeks. |
|
|
|
150-200 AD
|
First full clinical descriptions of depression are given. They come from the Roman Empire. |
|
|
|
1621
|
Robert Burton publishes the most famous treatise on melancholy – The Anatomy of Melancholy. |
|
|
|
1637
|
Philosopher René Descartes introduces the idea of a mind/body split which pervades future thought on depression. |
|
|
|
1796
|
The York Retreat is opened – a new kind of hospital where medical treatment was replaced with moral treatment. |
|
|
|
1800-1900
|
The century of the asylum – the asylum as a panacea. |
|
|
|
1900
|
Sigmund Freud lays out his seminal work on the theory of psychoanalysis. |
|
|
|
1920-1930
|
Physical treatments are tried and tested in a horrifyingly experimental period. |
|
|
|
1935
|
The first frontal lobotomy is carried out on a depressed patient. |
|
|
|
1962
|
Ken Kesey publishes the novel "One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest". It represents the end of an era for abusive treatments. |
Resources
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites
Websites
Mind
www.mind.org.uk
Raises awareness of mental health and campaigns for the rights of people experiencing mental distress and anxiety.
Depression and Antidepressants
www.antidepressants.co.uk
Links to websites on antidepressants and depression.
Depression Alliance
www.depressionalliance.org
Run by fellow sufferers. Contains information about symptoms, treatments and local groups.
Wing of Madness
www.wingofmadness.com
Website about clinical depression.
The Biology and Treatment of Clinical Depression
For an update of current treatments for depression and their effects.
Books
Madness: A brief history by Roy Porter (Oxford University Press, 2002) £11.99
Summary of the history of madness.
Medical Blunder: Amazing true stories of mad, bad and dangerous doctors by Robert Youngson and Ian Schott (Constable Robinson, 1996) £8.99
A popular read, with lots of anecdotes and mad stories, but the authors subscribe to modern science only, and this comes across in their outlook.
The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (The New York Review of Books 2001) £20
A tome of 17th century delights.
Depression by Constance Hammen (Psychology Press, 1997) £11.95
Particularly for students and professionals, this book covers clinical and diagnostic facts, and demographics such as why depression is more common in women and the young. Also considers genetic and biological factors, current treatment and developments.
Depression by M H Lader and P J Cowen (Oxford University Press, 2001) £40.00
A reference book aimed primarily at health professionals working in other specialities it sources significant recent developments including self-help treatments, suicide and self-harming, neurobiology and sexual dysfunction.
Managing Depressive Disorders by Katharine J Palmer (Adis International, 2000) £27.99
Intended for psychologists and psychiatrists, this book looks at different aspects of depressive disorders such as dysthymia, double depression, recurrent brief depression, seasonal affective disorder and psychotic depression.
Essential Psychopharmacology of Depression and Bipolar Disorder by Stephen M Stahl and Nancy Muntner (Cambridge University Press, 2000) £18.95
Easy to follow and fully illustrated. Explains the basic neuroscience of mood disorders and enables readers to understand the pharmacology of antidepressant drugs and their interaction on neurotransmitter pathways.
Antidepressant Therapy at the Dawn of the Third Millennium by Mike Briley and Stuart Montgomery (Martin Dunitz, 1999) £24.95
An illustrated overview of antidepressant therapy detailing the mechanisms of antidepressant agents. Synaptic function and dysfunction are looked at as a target for treatment and a cause of depression.
top ^
| 
