Abstract:
Depression is currently one of the main barriers to further civilizational development.
Despite intensive efforts, it is a growing health, social and economic problem. We still lack clarity
regarding the ethology of depression and treatment is still mainly symptomatic. The authors
postulate that depression has similarities with anxiety and from an evolutionary perspective is an
archaic defence mechanism. Formerly, through the agency of complex psychological, biological
and social mechanisms, healing was facilitated in conditions of an intense, short-term nature.
Adverse civilizational and environmental changes have caused pathological changes in both
the mechanism of depression and corresponding defence mechanisms such as the induction
of an anxiety state. Related to depression is the mechanism of thanatosis, concerning chronic
biological and psychosocial dysfunctions. It is a mechanism for activating self-eliminating
processes to free the community from the burden of a dysfunctional individual.
