Melancholia

Melancholia (Greek μελαγχολία) is a mood of non-specific depression. It is characterized by low levels of enthusiasm and low levels of eagerness for activity. It was previously described as a distinct disease as early as the fifth and fourth centuries BC in the Hippocratic writings. It was characterized by "aversion to food, despondency, sleeplessness, irritability, restlessness," as well as the statement that "Grief and fear, when lingering, provoke melancholia." It is now generally believed that strong melancholia was the same phenomenon as what is now called clinical depression.