Details:

Alternative Title:
Prev Chronic Dis
Personal Author:
Wilcox, Lynne S.
Description:
Robert Burton, an English Anglican priest, was one of the most educated and widely read men of his day. He lived from 1577 to 1640 and is remembered for his influential treatise, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1). Lacking knowledge of biophysical processes, early healers sought to develop models for the treatment of mental illness. In Anatomy, Burton reviews this history as well as the most modern theories of the 17th century. At that time, melancholy referred to all mental diseases and conditions and was considered one of four humours that controlled body systems: blood was a hot, sweet, red humour; phlegm was cold and moist; and choler was hot and dry. But melancholy was "cold and dry, thick, black, and sour, begotten of the more feculent part of nourishment, and purged from the spleen."

In the 17th century, treatment for an imbalance in melancholy might have included teas, infusions, or broths of laurel, white hellebore, bugloss, marigold, or pennyroyal — or even bloodletting with horse leeches. Burton discusses the debate on whether the brain, the heart, or some other body organ is the source of melancholy, then observes, "Our body is like a clock, if one wheel be amiss, all the rest are disordered." This metaphor remains apt for describing the role of mental health in overall wellness.


Subject:
[+]
History, 16th Century
History, 17th Century
History, 20th Century
Humans
Mental Disorders/diagnosis
Mental Disorders/history
Mental Disorders/therapy
Mental Health
Social Values

Source:
Prev Chronic Dis. 2006; 3(2).
Document Type:
Journal Article
Genre:
Historical Article
Collection(s):
Preventing Chronic Disease
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:33ab1e0a8de8dcf7d3f216dc0a31a06518d63a899fdfc4482ea28d407ddb17d4
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	license.txt	txt
  	PCD32A30.nxml	txt

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