Mood disorders have been described since ancient times, and for most of this history, treatment was limited to supportive care, herbal remedies, or dubious medical interventions. Following World War II, however, the serendipitous discoveries of the mood-restoring properties of imipramine, chlorpromazine, and lithium (the first generation of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers) finally gave physicians reliable interventions to manage mood disorders from a mechanistic standpoint.
