An Insight on Malankholia (Melancholia): Unani Perspective

Malankholia (melancholia) is defined as a disorder in which the mental functions are deranged and the afflicted person is more prone toward constant grief, fear, and dubious aggression, and the ability to analyze and interpret things is grossly affected, as enunciated by Jalinus (Galen) and quoted by Zakaria Razi (850–923 AD) in his world renowned treatise “Kitab Al-Havi.” The term melancholia literally means “black humor,” which is the predominant causative factor. Mental ill-health is one of the most disturbing and disabling disorders of life. It affects not only the concerned person but also his/her family and the society as a whole with social stigma attached to it. The problem is steadily on the rise due to factors such as urbanization, industrialization, and increase in lifespan, together with the breakup of the joint family system, with implication of multiple genes augmenting the psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric illness is almost
the same globally, about 8–10 per 1000 population. Unani, an age-old traditional system of medicine, has described in its classical text not only the concept of this disorder but also its management with various modes of treatment, which if pursued will mitigate the suffering of humanity to a great extent. The present review manuscript is an attempt to highlight the available literature from the Unani perspective.