Suggestions for a Physiological Classification of Depression

Abstract

Depression is the commonest of mental illnesses and fortunately it has a better outcome with treatment than any other psychiatric condition. It shows itself in a variety of guises, and as there is no universal formula for treating the different types, a classification is essential. During the past ten years the arrival of the tranquillizers and particularly antidepressants has revolutionized our view of depressive illness, yet we are still using terms which are purely descriptive, determined by administrative needs long forgotten, or loosely related to aetiology about which we still know little. The time has come to link the classification of depression with rational treatment, but before offering a scheme to do this, a brief consideration of the inadequacies of existing terminology may help to explain the need for a new scheme.