ABSTRACT
In this initial chapter, I shall define what we mean by the term depression. We all know, or think we know, what depression is, but how accurate are we? It is perhaps inevitable that depression means different things to different people. To some, depression is merely a slightly lowered mood, whereas for others it means a total retreat from the world and all that one has invested in it. Depression is referred to constantly in the media, in novels, in our daily conversations. Most of us will know someone who has depression. We may even experience depression ourselves. Depression is a significant source of disability the world over. Depression is all-pervasive in all senses of the word. To begin then, I shall present a historical perspective on depression. I shall explore how it has been represented in the past, from early Greek accounts to precursors to our modern conception. Following this, we shall explore what it actually means to experience depression. What the lived experience is for someone with this condition. Such experiential accounts communicate to the reader what depression means for the individual in a way that no list of symptoms can. There then follows a section on bereavement. To a certain extent, depression and bereavement seem intrinsically linked. We examine how they intertwine and how they are independent entities. In the case of bereavement, we see how important cultural and societal views are in determining what is and what is not appropriate behaviour at any point in a person’s life. The chapter ends with an examination of some of the issues associated with a diagnosis of depression. In particular, how mere words fail to do justice to the level of suffering experienced by those gripped by this condition.
