%0 Journal Article
%T Depression and the sense of life
%A Karl Payer
%J Journal f¨¹r Philosophie und Psychiatrie
%D 2009
%I Pabst Science Publishers, Lengerich
%X In this paper the psychiatric diagnostic and the psychotherapy of depressions are put in relation with Heidegger's concept of anxiety, which he developed in his book "Being and Time". Anxiety is a distinctive state-of-mind (mood), which gets one back from inauthentic existence, throwing them back to oneself. In that way, anxiety offers one the opportunity of seeing their authentic existence.In the first part of this article, the main symptoms of depressions are described (ICD 10, Kraeplin). It will be pointed out that angst (existential anxiety) is not seen as one of the main symptoms in common diagnostic manuals, even though it often and typically appears during depressions.In the second part, an interpretation of Heidegger's phenomenon of anxiety is given and it is shown that the fundamental ground of this phenomenon and the one of the psychiatric explanation of depression can be matched.In the third part, Interpersonal Psychotherapy is introduced as a highly efficient form of treatment of depressive episodes. It will be pointed out that depressions often appear in connection with unsolved grief and role transition.In the fourth part, Heidegger's philosophical implications, concerning anxiety, are put in relation with the clinical picture of depressive episodes. Thus this illness of the sense turns out to be a sensible illness at the same time, which opens up one's opportunity for their authentic existence.In the fifth part, the views of H. Tellenbach and L. Binswanger refering to Heidegger's phenomenon of anxiety on one hand and to the clinical picture of depressive episode on the other hand are compared and form the basis for the discussion of possible reasons which cover up the postulated connection between those two concepts.
%K Depression
%K Anxiety
%K Heidegger
%K Being and Time
%K Interpersonal Psychotherapy
%K Authentic Existence
%K Meaning of Life
%U http://www.jfpp.org/jfpp-2-2009-04.html