Melancholia a Psychiatric Disorder Described in Unani System of Medicine: Its Similarities and Differences with Depression

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.D., Assistant Professor Department of Moalajat (Medicine), National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, India

2 M.D., PG Scholar Department of Moalajat (Medicine), National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, India

3 M.S., Assistant Professor, Department of Jarahiyat (Surgery), National Institute of Unani, Medicine Bangalore, India

Abstract

Melancholia is a Latin transcription of the Greek word melaina chole, which in ancient Greece mainly meant “biliousness,” and was also used, in medical speech “to signify insane or anxious conduct. In Unani system of medicine, Melancholia is classified into three categories according to the site affected by the disease. Persian scholars, including Rhazes, Ahmad bin Mohammad Tabri, Haly Abbas, and Avicenna, have given a detailed description of this disorder as a disease. Avicenna, in his treatise, The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanun Fittib) has defined it as a kind of disorder in which imagination and judgment are so perverted that the victims become very sad and fearful. Some surveys were performed on Unani literature about melancholia and depression. The books consulted were mainly The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanun Fittib), The Complete Book of the Medical Art (Kamil Sana), College (Kitabbul Kulliyat), Kitabul Umda Fil Jarahat, Tib Akbar. This study is constructed on a scrupulous overview of writings, compositions, and publications on melancholia and depression using internet sources like Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline. There are numerous similarities between melancholia, a disease described in Unani system of medicine, and present-day depression, described in the conventional system of medicine. There are also a few differences between the two. Unani scholars were aware of psychiatric disorders and the concept is a collaborative effort of both ancient and conventional systems of medicine.

Keywords

References

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  1. Angst, J., Gamma, A., Benazzi, F., Ajdacic, V. and Rössler, W., 2007. Melancholia and atypical depression in the Zurich study: epidemiology, clinical characteristics, course, comorbidity and personality. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 115, pp.72-84.
  2. Arzani, A., 2000. Tibe Akbar. 1st ed. Deoband: Faisal publications.
  3. Arzani, A., 2002. Mizanut tibb. 1st ed. New delhi: Idara kitabushifa.
  4. Bhat, M.D.A., 2021. Taqashure Jild: Its similarities and differences with psoriasis. Clinics in Dermatology, 39(3), pp. 545-550.
  5. Bhat, M.D.A., Khan, A.B., and Hakim, M.H., 2010. Unani aspect of cardiac arrhythmia-A review, 9, pp. 601–605.
  6. Davidson, S. and Macleod, J., 1974. Davidson’s principles and practice of medicine. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
  7. Gelder, M., 1989. Oxford textbook of psychiatry/Michael Gelder, Dennis Gath, Richard Mayou. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  8. Griesinger, W., 1861. The pathology and therapy of mental illnesses for doctors and students. Stuttgar: Publishing house by Adolph Krabbe.
  9. Avicenna, 2007. Al-Qanoon Fit Tib. Translated from Urdu By GH. Kantoori. Vols. II and III. New Delhi: Idarae Kitabul Shifa.
  10. Jabin, F., 2011. Guiding tool in Unani Tibb for maintenance and preservation of health: a review study. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 8(5S), pp. 140-143.
  11. Jackson, S.W., 2008. A history of melancholia and depression. In: History of psychiatry and medical psychology. Boston, MA: Springer.
  12. Kasper, D., Fauci, A., Hauser, S., Longo, D., Jameson, J. and Loscalzo, J., 2015. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
  13. Kendler, K.S., 2020. The Origin of Our Modern Concept of Depression- The History of Melancholia From 1780-1880: A Review. JAMA psychiatry, 77(8), pp.863-868.
  14. Majusi, A., 2000. The Complete Book of the Medical Art (Kamilus Sana). 1st ed. New Delhi: Idara kitab-us-Shifa.
  15. Papadakis, M.A., McPhee, S.J., and Rabow, M.W., 2018. Current medical diagnosis & treatment 2018. New York: McGraw Hill Medical.
  16. Qaf, I., 1986. Kitabul Umda Fil Jarahat. Vols. 1-2. 1st ed. New Delhi: CCRUM, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  17. Qamri, A., 2008. Ghina Mina. 1st ed; New Delhi: CCRUM, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  18. Rahman, A., Ali, S.J., Zulkifle, M. and Ahmad, I., 2014. Concept of Akhlat Arba (four humors) with relation to health and disease. Int J Herb Med, 2(4), pp.46-9.
  19. Rais-ur-Rehman, P.A., Katoch, D.C., Siddiqui, K.M., Khan, M.A. and Jamil, S., 2013. Unani System of Medicine the science of health and healing. New Delhi: Department of Ayush Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Govt. of India, pp.39-44.
  20. Razi, A., 1997. Alhavi Fit Tib. 1st ed. New Delhi: Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine.
  21. Razi, A., 2008. Kitabul Fakhir Fit. 1st ed. New Delhi: Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine.
  22. Rushid, I., 1980. Kitabul Kulliyat. 1st ed. New Delhi: Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine.
  23. Sadock, B. and Sadock, V., 2008. Kaplan & Sadock{u2019}s concise textbook of clinical psychiatry. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  24. Siddarth, N.S., Anand, M.P., Billimoria, A.R., Munjal, Y.P., Kamath, S.A., and Nadkar, M.Y., 2008. API Textbook of Medicine. Vol. 1. 9th ed. Mumbai: Association of Physician of India.
  25. Tabri, A., 1995. Hippocratic writings (Moalajat Buqratiya). 1st ed. New Delhi: Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine.
  26. Tipo, F.A., Khanam, B., Naim, M., Ahmad, I. and Khan, T.N., 2019. Understanding concept of Tabiat (Physis) in the view of Unani physicians: A literature review. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, pp.265-268.
  27. Withington, E.T., Potter, P. and Smith, W.D., 1988. Loeb Classical Library. Vol. 1. [Online] Harvard University Press. Available at: https://www.worldcat.org/title/hippocrates/oclc/312053 Accessed August 16, 2021. [Accessed 15 August 2021]
Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 1
February 2023
Pages 27-34

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