Jessica Hamel-Akré

I asked myself daily if words were political, dated or postmodern; if they were feminist enough or if they were not. I asked myself at night, too, when I lay awake second-guessing myself.

My professor pointed to the differences in the languages of then and now. We say depression; they say nervousness. Our bodies are hormonal; theirs were humeral. They were different, but sometimes the same.

With Dr Cheyne’s theories, anxiety and depression became status symbols, as did paying for the type of lifestyle guidance he provided – paying for it was evidence you were trying.