Abstract: The problem of the existence of long-term depressive states is not new: descriptions of "chronic melancholies" are found in psychiatrists already in the 70 years of the XIX century. If we look at modern statistics of depression in general, we can see that not all depressive phases show a tendency to reverse development. In 40% of cases, the initial phase and a year later still meets the criteria for depression (N. Pincus, 2001), in 20% of cases it lasts for more than 2 years (N. Pincus, 2001) and in 17% of cases, depression continues throughout life (R. Kessler, 1994).