Many people begin to feel depressed because of a notable event or events. The events of September 11, 2001 are an example of those types of events. Not only

When people talk about “being depressed” they are typically referring to suffering from what is known as major depression. With this type of depression, a person experiences the characteristics of depression with a certain degree of intensity either in a single episode or with episodes that recur over time. They may have periods of overwhelming sadness, feel worthless, or lose interest in activities previously enjoyed. All of these are symptoms of a major depression if it lasts more than two weeks or recurs with regularity.

 Inability to concentrate and poor memory

Five hundred years ago, a disturbance in mood or a physical impairment was thought to be an imbalance in the four "humors" that influence temperament. The Ancient Greeks developed the concepts of “essentialism”, involving the four humors. Essentialism was the belief that every living organism alive contained certain mixtures of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. These four elements were called humors. The humors consisted of Black Bile (earth), Phlegm (water), Yellow Bile (air), and Blood (fire). Depending on the mixtures of the four humors, a person would have specific traits attributed to them. These traits were intellectual as well as physiological. How a person arrived at their specific combination of humors was largely due to geography. For example, if someone was born with black hair, it was because they came from a specific region of the world, which mixed the four humors together in specific combination to create the mixture for black hair. Predominance of black bile was thought to cause melancholy and madness. Because it involved cogitation and introspection, the state of melancholy became associated with the creative person. Webster’s Dictionary defines melancholy (definition dating from the 14th century) as “an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression.” The philosopher Plato first postulated the notion that melancholy often followed "the Divine Frenzy" of creativity.

Fortunately, too, the treatment for depression has also changed since the Middle Ages. Around the 1950's and 60's the classes of antidepressants known as the tricyclics and the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MOIs) were first developed. Along with Lithium, used mainly as treatment for manic depressive behavior, these drugs represented the first major medical breakthroughs in chemical treatment of depression. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants today are of a newer class known as the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). These newer drugs are generally more specific and have fewer side effects than the older types, plus they are not addictive. Patience is important when treating depression. Even with the proper antidepressant treatment, the medications can take up to six weeks to become effective. Once they take effect, consistency in taking antidepressant medication is important to control the symptoms and prevent recurrences of the depressive state.

Modern medicine allows us to scan the brain and demonstrate the actual effects of mood changes. However, in earlier times depression had to be portrayed through writings and drawings. There is no more powerful visual image of extreme depression and its symptoms than Dürer's engraving made in 1514. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was born in Germany, one of their eighteen children. He attended school and worked in his father's workshop learning the trade of a goldsmith and jeweler. By the age of 13 he was already a skilled painter. In 1486 Dürer became an apprentice painter and woodcut designer. His famous engraving, Melencolia, evokes in t

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