Jean-Pierre Falret: folie circulaire

Manic Depression was established as a diagnosable illness thanks to the work of French psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Falret. In the early 1850s, Falret identified folie circulaire or “circular insanity”.

Patients who were grappling with agitation or euphoria, the ancient Greeks and Romans used the waters of spas in northern Italy. They believed this water was helpful in treating mania and melancholia because it contained lithium salts that, as naturally occurring minerals, were absorbed into the body.

They were right. And, in 1949, Australian physician John Cade introduced lithium to psychiatry. It continues to be used and studied extensively to this day.