When did we start diagnosing depression?
Depression diagnosis has been around longer than your great-grandma’s secret family recipes, but let’s rewind to when it first got some official street cred. Picture this: Back in ancient Greece around 400 BC, Hippocrates was basically the OG therapist, dubbing it “melancholia” and blaming it on wonky body fluids like black bile. Fast-forward through the Middle Ages, where folks might’ve thought a funk was due to demons or bad luck, and we see early stirrings of mental health chatter in the 19th century with psychiatrists like Emil Kraepelin categorizing mood disorders. It’s almost comical how our ancestors diagnosed a downer with leeches and prayers, but hey, it was a start to spotting what we now call depression.
By the 20th century, diagnosing depression leveled up from guesswork to science, with key milestones that make you appreciate modern therapy apps. Here’s a quick rundown of when things got real:
- 1952: The first DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) dropped, labeling depressive reactions as a thing, finally giving clinicians a playbook.
- 1980: DSM-III rolled out, sharpening the criteria for major depressive disorder and making it easier to spot beyond just “feeling blah.”
Who knew that turning emotional slumps into checklists would be such a game-changer?
