The two extremes of mood, melancholy and mania, were first described by Hippocrates, who associated melancholia with an over abundance of black bile and mania with yellow bile. In the second century AD Arataeus of Cappadocia observed that ‘melancholia is without any doubt the beginning and even part of the disorder called mania’.

It wasn't until the 1970s when the first treatment became available: lithium. The genesis of its discovery belongs to a dermatologist, Dr Perry Baird, a man almost completely forgotten by history. From the beginning of his earliest experiments he spent the majority of his adult life in mental asylums.

Written and Hosted by Mat RobsonProduced by Leanne KnibbOriginal Theme by Patrick Davies

Following Music Sourced from freemusicarchive.org and used under an Attribution License - creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Realness by Kai EngelDelirium by Kai EngelPericulum by Kai EngelCold War Echo by Kai EngelWake Up by Kai EngelSeptember by Kai EngelScenery by Kai EngelAll I Have Left Are These Photographs by Kai EngelDaedalus by Kai Engel

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