Affectivity and Identity in the Treatment of mood Disorders

It is not uncommon to hear patients who suffer
from depression complain that they are not themselves.
Given that their lives during a depressive episode may be
profoundly changed, it is often easy to agree. But what
does it mean to agree here? "Not being themselves� in this
context refers to qualitative changes that have occurred in
their way of being, including changes in personality and
self-understanding. I will use the term "self� to refer to
periods of a distinguishable personality pattern in a
person"s life, without further discussion of their
metaphysical status or the criteria for a distinction between
different selves.