Ancient Perspectives on Mental Illness: Insight From Hippocrates and Avicenna
Have you ever thought about the history and origins of mental illness?
When the first philosophers, scientists, and doctors were discussing the complexities of the human body, do you think they also grappled with the idea of mental illnesses?
Wonder if the Greek doctor, Hippocrates, or the Muslim physician, Avicenna - who are considered some of the first doctors – ever treated people for depression or anxiety? Or if Ebers Papyrus, an Ancient Egyptian medical book, taught doctors about how to prevent, diagnose, and treat mental illness?
Although terms and concepts like “psychology,” “major depressive disorder,” or “DSM-5” were not used in ancient times, the topic of mental illness was in fact discussed extensively throughout the history of ancient medicine.
One of the most famous doctors in the history of Greek medicine is Hippocrates. He is attributed with having written the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of nearly 100 medical texts. In these texts, Hippocrates wrote about a wide range of illnesses and biological concepts. In describing these ailments, he used Humoral Theory to explain the underlying causes of the illnesses, which detailed that the body is made up of four humors: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. An imbalance in these humors would result in disease. Hippocrates described that if someone had a buildup of blood, for example, they would develop a fever. Humoral Theory was not limited to physical health, it also applied to mental health. In fact, Hippocrates thought that if there was a build-up of black bile, this would lead to “melancholy.” Although it was not defined as such, Hippocrates description of “melancholy” is seen as similar to our modern understanding of symptoms of depression.
Hippocrates’ scholarship on mental illness was not limited to Humoral Theory, however. In fact, Hippocrates also described how he thought body parts could interact to cause mental illness. The origins of “hysteria” lie in the Hippocratic Corpus. “Hyster” is a greek word that means “uterus.” In “On the Diseases of Women” Hippocrates describes the effects of having a “wandering womb.” He writes that the womb can move “towards the head, causing suffocation, sleepiness, and foaming at the mouth,” or “towards the upper abdomen, causing drowsiness and loss of voice.” In addition, “if a woman’s uterus moves against her liver, she will suddenly lose her speech, grind her teeth, and take on a livid coloring.” This text shows early perspectives on what became the highly stigmatized term, “hysteria,” which was used to describe women experiencing psychiatric illness during the 20th century. In this way, it is clear texts like these have had a lasting impact on the history of mental illness our modern understanding of psychopathology.
The history of Greek medicine and Hippocrates is deeply intertwined with modern medicine. Even today, physicians take the Hippocratic Oath to treat their patients and do no harm. However, Hippocrates is not the only prominent physician in the history of medicine, and he is not the only one who thought about mental illness. There are many other important physicians, especially across cultures. For example, the Muslim physician Avicenna studied the connection between the mind and the body, an early investigation of psychology in his “Canon of Medicine.” He also described mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, although in terms like melancholy and fear about death. Moreover, the Ebers Papyrus, a medical text written by an anonymous author mentions mental illnesses and argues that these mental illnesses are the result of other physical ailments, like heart conditions. Overall, looking back in time to some of the first physicians and scientists can reveal that the study of mental illness was valuable and commonplace and that some of this research informs our understanding of mental illness today. Given this wealth of information, perhaps a deeper dive into the early practices of mental health can also reveal novel ways to approach researching and treating mental illness today.
Works Cited
Hippocrates. On the Nature of Man
Ebers Papyrus
Avicenna. Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine).