What is Melancholia?
Originally defined by Greek doctors around 300 BCE, melancholia is a psychological disorder marked by loss of appetite and a depressed mood. Modern psychologists generally believe that melancholia is another term for what is now known as depressive disorder. In ancient Greek medicine, doctors believed that every disease was caused by an imbalance in one of four main bodily fluids, or humours. An excess of black bile was said to be the cause of a depressed disposition. Taken from the Greek root words melas, meaning “black,” and kholé, meaning “bile,” this condition was termed melancholia. As defined in the Hippocratic writings, melancholia produced certain symptoms that are very similar to those associated with depressive disorder today. Persistent sleeplessness, lack of appetite, and despondency were all considered to be signs of melancholia. In addition, Greek doctors noted that patients suffering from melancholia exhibited aggressive behavior, sometimes leading to suicide. It is inte
