When did Hippocrates define mental illness?

It was around 400 BC that Hippocrates (460–370 BC) attempted to separate superstition and religion from medicine by systematizing the belief that a deficiency in or especially an excess of one of the four essential bodily fluids (i.e., humors)—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—was responsible for physical and …

Who originally thought that madness was an imbalance of fluids?

Ancient Rome continued to ascribe to the teachings of the famous Greek physician Hippocrates who thought that madness resulted from an imbalance of four bodily fluids or humors. According to the theory of humors, surplus yellow bile caused raging mania and excess phlegm caused quiet mania.

What did Hippocrates say about depression?

Hippocrates, a Greek physician, suggested that depression (initially called “melancholia”) was caused by four imbalanced body fluids called humours: yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood. 2 Specifically, he thought that melancholia was caused by too much black bile in the spleen.

What did Hippocrates say about health?

Among the Hippocrates quotes most widely shared on the internet and via social media and memes are ‘First do no harm’ (often wrongly attributed to the Oath), ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’, ‘Walking is the best medicine’ and ‘All diseases begin in the gut’.

Was Hippocrates real?

Hippocrates, (born c. 460 bce, island of Cos, Greece—died c. 375 bce, Larissa, Thessaly), ancient Greek physician who lived during Greece’s Classical period and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine.

What is yellow and black bile?

The people who have yellow bile are bitter, short tempered, and daring. They appear greenish and have yellow skin. The people who are composed of black bile are lazy, fearful, and sickly. They have black hair and black eyes.