Editing Major depressive disorder (section)

==Society and culture==
{{Further|Depression and culture}}

===Terminology===
[[File:Abraham Lincoln O-60 by Brady, 1862.jpg|thumb|The 16th [[President of the United States|American president]], [[Abraham Lincoln]], had "[[Depression (mood)|melancholy]]", a condition that now may be referred to as clinical depression.<ref>Wolf, Joshua [https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/lincolns-clinical-depression "Lincoln's Great Depression"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009044732/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/10/lincoln-apos-s-great-depression/4247/ |date=9 October 2011 }}, ''The Atlantic'', October 2005. Retrieved 10 October 2009</ref>]]

The term ''depression'' is used in a number of different ways. It is often used to mean this syndrome but may refer to other [[mood disorder]]s or simply to a low mood. People's conceptualizations of depression vary widely, both within and among cultures. "Because of the lack of scientific certainty," one commentator has observed, "the debate over depression turns on questions of language. What we call it—'disease,' 'disorder,' 'state of mind'—affects how we view, diagnose, and treat it."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2129377|title=The Depression Wars: Would Honest Abe Have Written the Gettysburg Address on Prozac?|author=Maloney F|date=3 November 2005|journal=Slate|access-date=3 October 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925012423/http://www.slate.com/id/2129377/|archive-date=25 September 2008}}</ref> There are cultural differences in the extent to which serious depression is considered an illness requiring personal professional treatment, or an indicator of something else, such as the need to address social or moral problems, the result of biological imbalances, or a reflection of individual differences in the understanding of distress that may reinforce feelings of powerlessness, and emotional struggle.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Karasz A |title=Cultural differences in conceptual models of depression |journal=Social Science & Medicine |volume=60 |issue=7 |pages=1625–35 |date=April 2005 |pmid=15652693 |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Tilbury F, Rapley M | year = 2004 | title = 'There are orphans in Africa still looking for my hands': African women refugees and the sources of emotional distress|journal=Health Sociology Review|volume=13|issue=1|pages=54–64|doi=10.5172/hesr.13.1.54| s2cid = 145545714 }}</ref>

===Cultural dimension===
Cultural differences contribute to different prevalence of symptoms. "Do the Chinese [[Somatization|somatize]] depression? A cross-cultural study" by Parker ''et al.'' discusses the cultural differences in prevalent symptoms of depression between [[Individualistic culture|individualistic]] and [[collectivistic culture]]s. The authors reveal that individuals with depression in collectivistic cultures tend to present more somatic symptoms and less affective symptoms compared to those in individualistic cultures. The finding suggests that individualistic cultures 'warranting' or [[Emotional validation|validating]] one's expression of emotions explains this cultural difference since collectivistic cultures see this as a taboo against the social cooperation it deems one of the most significant values.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Parker G, Cheah YC, Roy K | title = Do the Chinese somatize depression? A cross-cultural study | journal = Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | volume = 36 | issue = 6 | pages = 287–293 | date = June 2001 | pmid = 11583458 | doi = 10.1007/s001270170046 | s2cid = 24932164 }}</ref>

===Stigma===
Historical figures were often reluctant to discuss or seek treatment for depression due to [[social stigma]] about the condition, or due to ignorance of diagnosis or treatments. Nevertheless, analysis or interpretation of letters, journals, artwork, writings, or statements of family and friends of some historical personalities has led to the presumption that they may have had some form of depression. People who may have had depression include English author [[Mary Shelley]],<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Seymour M |title=Mary Shelley|publisher=Grove Press|year=2002 |pages=560–61 |isbn=978-0-8021-3948-1}}</ref> American-British writer [[Henry James]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/american/genius/henry_bio.html|title=Biography of Henry James|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]|access-date=19 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008042925/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/american/genius/henry_bio.html|archive-date=8 October 2008}}</ref> and American president [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Burlingame M |title=The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-252-06667-2 |pages=xvii, 92–113 }}</ref> Some well-known contemporary people with possible depression include Canadian songwriter [[Leonard Cohen]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Pita E |url=http://www.webheights.net/10newsongs/press/elmunmag.htm |title=An Intimate Conversation with...Leonard Cohen |date=26 September 2001 |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011082500/http://www.webheights.net/10newsongs/press/elmunmag.htm |archive-date=11 October 2008 }}</ref> and American playwright and novelist [[Tennessee Williams]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jeste ND, Palmer BW, Jeste DV |title=Tennessee Williams |journal=The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=370–75 |year=2004 |pmid=15249274 |doi=10.1097/00019442-200407000-00004 }}</ref> Some pioneering psychologists, such as Americans [[William James]]<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=James H |title=Letters of William James (Vols. 1 and 2) |publisher=Kessinger Publishing Co|location=Montana |pages=147–48|isbn=978-0-7661-7566-2 |year=1920}}</ref><ref name="HistoryJames">{{Harvnb |Hergenhahn|2005|p=311}}</ref> and [[John B. Watson]],<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Cohen D |title=J. B. Watson: The Founder of Behaviourism |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |location=London |year=1979 |page=7 |isbn=978-0-7100-0054-5}}</ref> dealt with their own depression.

[[File:Norges statsminister Kjell Magne Bondevik.jpg|thumb|150px|In 1998, the Norwegian PM [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] publicly announced he would take a leave of absence in order to recover from a depressive episode.]]

There has been a continuing discussion of whether neurological disorders and mood disorders may be linked to [[creativity]], a discussion that goes back to [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] times.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Andreasen NC |title=The relationship between creativity and mood disorders |journal=Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=251–5 |year=2008 |doi=10.31887/DCNS.2008.10.2/ncandreasen |pmid=18689294 |pmc=3181877 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Simonton DK |year=2005 |title=Are genius and madness related? Contemporary answers to an ancient question |journal=Psychiatric Times |volume=22 |issue=7 |url=http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/52456?pageNumber=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114065333/http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/52456?pageNumber=1 |archive-date=14 January 2009 }}</ref> British literature gives many examples of reflections on depression.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Heffernan CF |title=The melancholy muse: Chaucer, Shakespeare and early medicine |publisher=Duquesne University Press |location=Pittsburgh|year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8207-0262-9}}</ref> English philosopher [[John Stuart Mill]] experienced a several-months-long period of what he called "a dull state of nerves", when one is "unsusceptible to enjoyment or pleasurable excitement; one of those moods when what is pleasure at other times, becomes insipid or indifferent". He quoted English poet [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s "Dejection" as a perfect description of his case: "A grief without a pang, void, dark and drear, / A drowsy, stifled, unimpassioned grief, / Which finds no natural outlet or relief / In word, or sigh, or tear."<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10378/10378-8.txt |title=Autobiography |author=Mill JS |chapter-format=txt |publisher=Project Gutenberg EBook |pages=1826–32 |chapter=A crisis in my mental history: One stage onward |access-date=9 August 2008 |isbn=978-1-4212-4200-2 |year=2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921084533/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10378/10378-8.txt |archive-date=21 September 2008 |author-link=John Stuart Mill }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sterba R |title=The 'Mental Crisis' of John Stuart Mill |journal=Psychoanalytic Quarterly |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=271–72 |year=1947 |url=http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=PAQ.016.0271C |access-date=5 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112164603/http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=PAQ.016.0271C |archive-date=12 January 2009 }}</ref> English writer [[Samuel Johnson]] used the term "the black dog" in the 1780s to describe his own depression,<ref name=McKinlay05>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/McKinlay.pdf |title=Churchill's Black Dog?: The History of the 'Black Dog' as a Metaphor for Depression |year=2005 |access-date=18 August 2008 |website=Black Dog Institute website |publisher=Black Dog Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910170230/http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/McKinlay.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2008 }}</ref><ref name=HistoryCollection>{{cite web |url=https://historycollection.com/these-20-historical-figures-with-severe-mental-issues-helped-shape-the-world/ |title=These 20 Historical Figures With Severe Mental Issues Helped Shape The World |date=27 November 2018 |access-date=5 December 2024 |website=History Collection }}</ref> and it was subsequently popularized by British Prime Minister Sir [[Winston Churchill]], who also had the disorder.<ref name=McKinlay05 /><ref name=HistoryCollection /> [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] in his ''[[Faust, Part One]]'', published in 1808, has [[Mephistopheles]] assume the form of a black dog, specifically a [[poodle]].

Social stigma of major depression is widespread, and contact with mental health services reduces this only slightly. Public opinions on depression treatment vary. While some remain skeptical about antidepressants, recent studies show a more balanced view. Many patients recognize their benefits but have concerns about side effects and personality changes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jacob |first1=Sabrina Anne |last2=Hassali |first2=Mohamed Azmi Ahmad |last3=Ab Rahman |first3=Ab Fatah |date=May 2015 |title=Attitudes and beliefs of patients with chronic depression toward antidepressants and depression |journal=Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |volume=11 |language=en |pages=1339–1347 |doi=10.2147/NDT.S82563 |doi-access=free |pmid=26064052 |pmc=4455848 |issn=1178-2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Unmet Need in Psychiatry:Problems, Resources, Responses |veditors=Andrews G, Henderson S |year=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/unmetneedinpsych0000unse/page/409 409] |chapter=Public knowledge of and attitudes to mental disorders: a limiting factor in the optimal use of treatment services |vauthors=Jorm AF, Angermeyer M, Katschnig H |isbn=978-0-521-66229-1 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unmetneedinpsych0000unse/page/409 }}</ref> In the UK, the [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]] and the [[Royal College of General Practitioners]] conducted a joint Five-year Defeat Depression campaign to educate and reduce stigma from 1992 to 1996;<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Paykel ES, Tylee A, Wright A, et al |title=The Defeat Depression Campaign: psychiatry in the public arena |journal=The American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=154 |issue=6 Suppl |pages=59–65 |date=June 1997 |pmid=9167546 |doi=10.1176/ajp.154.6.59 |doi-access=free }}</ref> a [[Ipsos MORI|MORI]] study conducted afterwards showed a small positive change in public attitudes to depression and treatment.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Paykel ES, Hart D, Priest RG |title=Changes in public attitudes to depression during the Defeat Depression Campaign |journal=The British Journal of Psychiatry |volume=173 |issue=6 |pages=519–22 |date=December 1998 |pmid=9926082 |doi=10.1192/bjp.173.6.519 |s2cid=21172113 }}</ref>

While serving his first term as Prime Minister of Norway, [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]] attracted international attention in August 1998 when he announced that he was suffering from a depressive episode, becoming the highest ranking world [[leadership|leader]] to admit to suffering from a mental illness while in office. Upon this revelation, [[Anne Enger]] became acting Prime Minister for three weeks, from 30 August to 23 September, while he recovered from the depressive episode. Bondevik then returned to office. Bondevik received thousands of supportive letters, and said that the experience had been positive overall, both for himself and because it made mental illness more publicly acceptable.<ref name=Jones2011Fighting>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bondevik KM | title = Fighting stigma with openness. Interview by Ben Jones | journal = Bulletin of the World Health Organization | volume = 89 | issue = 12 | pages = 862–863 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 22271941 | pmc = 3260893 | doi = 10.2471/BLT.11.041211 | url = https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/12/11-041211/en/index.html | access-date = 19 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131031035031/http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/12/11-041211/en/index.html | archive-date = 31 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>[[BBC]] [[Newsnight]], 21 January 2008.</ref>