In 1621, Robert Burton published “Anatomy of melancholy”, the first attempt in the modern western world to understand and categorize the causes, symptoms and treatments of this universal human experience.
Burton, who was scholarly and professor at the University of Oxford, England, was inspired by the writings of others and also in his own experiences.
But how much of this fundamental work of Burton is held today with what we know about depression and mood disorders?
To find the answer, the British writer Amy Liptop then analyzes 5 of Burton’s theories.
1. Patterns identification
For those who suffer from it, depression may seem unconnected, but our moods often follow quite similar patterns. Burton theorized that melancholy was an “hereditary disease” and sought patterns of mental illness in families and between generations.
It may not be so wrong: today it has been discovered that depression has a genetic and environmental component.
Dr. Frances Rice, who works with families to address depressive disorders, explains: “When a father or mother suffers from serious depression, I would like to see a health service where both the child and his family can participate together and the family can also receive that attention.”
Genetic patterns are not only useful for predicting mental illnesses; We can also study patterns in our behavior.
Robert Burton’s study on melancholy does not focus only on the lowest moments, but also leads the reader to the vertiginous heights of his own emotions.
With the advances in our understanding of mood disorders, contemporary academics have suggested that Burton’s extreme ups and downs could have been, in fact, symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Burton had a surprising understanding of his own mood in constant change and the circumstances that affected him.
Today, this consciousness can be considered a vital tool for the management of a mental illness.
If we can observe patterns in our moods and behaviors, we can begin to manage the external factors that contribute to them.
2. The benefits of a cold bathroom
In his book, Burton compiled a wide range of ideas and texts written by others. The benefit of bathing outdoors “in fresh rivers and cold water” was one of the theories that it included, since it was said that it was recommended for anyone who wanted to live a long life. I may be right.
400 years later, Dr. Mike Tipton, Research Director of the Laboratory of Extreme Environments of the University of Portsmouth, England, supports this idea.
It attributes it to something called cross adaptation: “As one gets used to the stress of cold water and manages to manage it better at the physiological and cellular level, it also reduces the inflammatory response to other types of stress that can cause disorders such as depression.”
3. Be in contact with nature
For Burton, nature was key to relieving the symptoms of melancholy. It exalted the virtues of herbs and flowers such as boraja and eléboro to clear the mind, purify the veins of melancholy and rejoice the heart.
According to Professor Simon Hiscock, director of the Oxford Botanical Garden, plants such as boraja have been used to treat melancholy, anxiety and depression since the classical time.
Not only was it believed that this modest grass brought joy, it is also said that Roman soldiers were administered with wine to instill value in battle.
Burton said the “rejoicing” effects of nature were not limited to edible plants.
He was also a fervent defender of gardening, digging and closing to revitalize the body.
For Monty Don, British gardener and announcer, this is still true today. Don describes the “powerful medicine” that arises by physically connecting with plants, manipulating the earth and feeling the growth of foliage that has been planted.
Monty Don has experienced the benefits of exercise in his own experiences with depression: “I usually think that the best exercise is when it is combined with some kind of function,” he says.
Walking the dog, for example, provides exercise, purpose and a connection with nature.
Burton’s beliefs about the power to go outdoors have already been formally recognized and have even been incorporated into the treatments of the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.
4. A shared problem
“The best way to find comfort is to share our sadness with a friend, not to repress it in our own chest,” Burton wrote 400 years ago.
Introspection and isolation are common behaviors among those who suffer depression. While this rarely improves the situation, counteracting these impulses socializing may seem almost impossible.
Dr. Rice suggests programming pleasant activities as part of the treatment plan.
Programming activities provides an impulse to carry them out, increasing the possibilities that the patient obtains its benefits, even if this is the opposite of what he feels he wants to do.
When attending the header for low mood, they are likely to prescribe antidepressants, but doctors can now also prescribe social medicines, such as art classes or walking groups.
If loneliness, instead of a serious mental illness, is causing Anhedonia (the loss of joy with the activities that were pleasant), a social recipe could be much more useful than medication.
The community is key. Burton, therefore, was right when he suggested “he turns to friends … whose jokes and joys can rejoice.”
5. Balance between working and personal life
Well, “balance between working and personal life” is not the exact terminology that Burton would have used.
The writer opted for the much more poetic term of “love for learning” instead of “studying excessively.”
His theory was that spending too much hunched time reading and writing meant not dedicating enough time to other practices that we know are good for mental health, such as exercise, sleep and socialization.
This is where the balance comes into play: when our minds are restless and agitated, studying provides us with a welcome distraction, a positive approach and a sense of purpose.
However, studying too much makes us sedentary and lonely, neglecting the other activities that nourish a healthy mind.
Burton could write his work 400 years ago, but his collection of theories about the causes, symptoms and treatments of melancholy remains useful and relevant today.
It is clear that his understanding of physiology is completely outdated today, but Burton, and those he studied, had an innate understanding of how to better relieve our melancholic symptoms.
If self -awareness, swimming, nature, community and reading worked for them, why not for us?
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