The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that Almost 4 percent of the world’s population suffers from depression. This percentage only covers people who receive the diagnosis, although it could be even higher given that this disorder is often not detected due to the absence of the classic symptoms characteristic of this disease.
Headaches, muscle pain, intestinal discomfort, tightness in the chestphysical fatigue, ringing in the ears and low sexual desire are some of the symptoms that motivate almost seven out of ten people to consult various medical specialists.
And, in general, in many of them no organic cause can be found to justify them.
Decades ago, the Germans called it “depression without sadness”; others, masked depression.
They also do not feel sad or anguished and even more so: if they feel down, they attribute it to the physical ailments, that is, they invert the cause with the consequences. In other words, the emotional symptoms that are the essence of depression are hidden.
This is not a new problem for psychiatrists.
Decades ago, the Germans called it “depression without sadness”; In 1947, Schinuk called it “masked depression”; Juan José López Ibor, in 1966, created the term “depressive equivalent”, and in 1969, Wolfgang Walcher called it “larvate depression”.
Various international surveys reveal that many patients who suffer from persistent physical pain They actually suffer from an invisible depressive disorder of which they have no record.
Furthermore, after having received various wrong diagnoses and with an average of eleven months of delay in consulting with a psychiatrist.
If it were necessary to highlight which of all the physical symptoms are the most frequent, three of them would have to be listed: pain, fatigue and problems sleeping at night.
Depression has increased in recent decades and is expected to continue to increase, and within them, with physical manifestations.
Sleeping well is something that is often valued when it is lost. And so, starting the day is not an easy task, although for those who suffer from a “classic” depression The morning is always the worst time; In hidden depression, it is the body that does not respond or responds with little energy.
Depression has increased in recent decades and is expected to continue to increase, and within them, these forms that are manifested by physical symptoms.
Some theories express that currently – due to labor, economic, technological changes, etc. – both men and women They have lost their ability to live well and they are more concerned with surviving, without expressing their emotions and transferring their conflicts to the physical stage.
In some way, culture can also collaborate in this process since it is much more acceptable to suffer from physical symptoms than depressive symptoms, which for many are symbols of weakness, lack of character or personality.
Hidden depression occurs at any age and in both sexes, but it tends to predominate among young people and older adults.
How is depression known – in any of its presentations – It is the result of the confluence of psychological, organic or biochemical factors, which are, precisely, what must be addressed jointly for an adequate and effective solution.