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Melancholy

The document discusses depression, melancholy, and sadness from various perspectives including ancient humoral medicine, Robert Burton's 17th century book on the topic, the Buddhist view of suffering, depression in modern times, and statistics on depression from the National Institute of Mental Health.

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Quan Nguyen
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31 views1 page

Melancholy

The document discusses depression, melancholy, and sadness from various perspectives including ancient humoral medicine, Robert Burton's 17th century book on the topic, the Buddhist view of suffering, depression in modern times, and statistics on depression from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Uploaded by

Quan Nguyen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DEPRESSION, SADNESS, MELANCHOLY

Robert Burton attempted to gather the totality of human thinking on sadness and
melancholy in his 1621 book The Anatomy of Melancholy. This includes quotes from
thinkers and literature, anatomical drawings, and Burton’s own meditations.

Burton was fascinated by the ancient humoral medical system, from which the word
melancholy is derived: Black bile = melancholia. Those with an excess of this
humor were expected to be serious and despondent. Those with an excess of yellow bile
were described as choleric – quick to anger and restless. A person with an excess of
phlegm or phlegma, the third humor, was thought to tend towards laziness and apathy.
The word phlegmatic still describes these kinds of tendencies. (The actual word phlegm
is now used to describe the type of mucus we cough up when we have a chest infection.)
Those dominated by the fourth humor – blood – were described as sanguine – good
natured and playful. These words still remain in circulation, though their origins have
faded into obscurity. Incidentally, the Greeks were not the only ones with a humoral
medical system – India and China still retain very strong humoral-oriented systems.

Burton’s quote “he who increaseth wisdom increaseth sorrow,” (which some have
suggested was Burton being ironic) has become a cliché that artists and writers tend to
attribute to depression and other challenging emotions. Doctor and poet Richard M.
Berlin has attempted to study the link between depression and poetry. Read an
interview with Dr. Berlin here. Depression or bouts of melancholy were once seen as
unusual or taboo in the West, but recently many public figures have come forward to
talk about their struggles with depression.

In the Buddhist worldview, suffering has always been regarded as part of the


fundamental fabric of reality. Inquiring into the cycle of suffering is a central tenet of
Buddhist learning and practice. Suffering is seen as something to be looked at carefully,
with the belief that while we may not be able to eliminate the sources of suffering in the
world, we do have the power to understand better the workings of our own minds.

Sooner or later, everyone gets the blues. Feeling sadness, loneliness, or grief when you
go through a difficult life experience is part of being human. And most of the time, you
can continue to function. You know that in time you will bounce back, and you do. But
what if you don’t bounce back? What if your feelings of sadness linger, are excessive, or
interfere with your work, sleep, or recreation? What if you’re feeling fatigue or
worthlessness, or experiencing weight changes along with your sadness? You may be
experiencing major depression.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 17 million adult


Americans suffer from depression during any 1-year period. Depression is a real illness
and carries with it a high cost in terms of relationship problems, family suffering and
lost work productivity. Yet, depression is a highly treatable illness. If you are
experiencing depression, there are many resources that can help.

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