The age of melancholy : "major depression" and its social origins / Dan G. Blazer.

New York ; Hove : Routledge, 2005.

x, 251 pages ; 24 cm

Preface -- The diagnosis of depression -- Introduction -- The birth and growth of major depression -- The rise and fall of depression as a reaction -- Social psychiatry -- The birth and growth of social psychiatry -- The retreat of social psychiatry -- The frequency of depression and a lesson from war and society -- Interpreting the burden of depression -- A lesson from war syndromes -- Things fall apart: society and depression in the 21st century -- The revival of social psychiatry -- A call for basic social science research in psychiatry -- Emotion: a link between body and society -- The problem with Soma.

Includes bibliographical references and index.