Posted by Ginny on April 29, 2000, at 10:03:02
In reply to Re: Melancholia, posted by AndrewB on April 29, 2000, at 9:13:37
Thanks for that. I'm after more. Did you get your information out of a diagnostic manual? Robert Burton notwithstanding, what I'm after is the significance of a diagnosis of melancholia. How is it different from garden-variety unipolar depression? What does it mean to a psychiatrist? How is it treated differently? In my boning up on depression, I've occasionally seen reference to melancholia as a specific diagnosis, but I've never known what it meant. For example, there was a post on the topic of a psychiatrist's diagnostic and treatment algorithm, which algorithm leads to a diagnosis of melancholia as a particular type of depression.
Just wondering. It may be a distinction without a difference to a depressed person, but I think it is a term of art to a psychiatrist with ramifacations as to prognosis and a course of treatment.
Thanks for responding.
poster:Ginny
thread:31524
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000429/msgs/31661.html