In his classic paper “Mourning and melancholia,” Freud detailed the savagery of depression’s assault in a tone of bewildered alarm: The patient represents his ego to us as worthless, incapable of any achievement and morally despicable; he reproaches himself, vilifies himself and expects to be cast out and punished. He abases himself before everyone and commiserates with his own relatives for being connected with anyone so unworthy. He is not of the opinion that a change has taken place, but extends his self-criticism back over the past; he declares that he was never any better. This picture of
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