Ernst underlines the complexities of the various depressive conditions and briefly indicates what may be the development and limits of depression. The text ranges from the monosymptomatic forms (where lack of affect, insomnia or hypochondria are themselves presenting symptoms), to the depression of menopause and depression of retirement which are associated with psychic origins. It is emphasised that although the difference between a depressive state and a neurosis is a relative one, certain signs permit the recognition of the depression. These include: - chronicity; attacks of melancholy in contrast to chronic depression; - bodily perceptions, where the symptomatology of depression is identified directly with an organ or system; - the idea of death which represents the common denominator of these conditions.