Chief Complaint
The chief complaint presented by depressed patients often pints immediately to the diagnosis of depression; although it sometimes suggest a physical disturbance.
Skillful questioning can generally determine whether the basic symptomatology is present.
The chief complaint may take a variety of forms:
*an unpleasant emotional state
*a changed attitude toward life
*somatic symptoms of a specifically depressive nature
*somatic symptoms not typical of depression
Although depression is generally considered an affective disorder, it should be emphasized that a subjective change on mood is not reported by all depressed patients.
As in many other disorders, the absence of a significant clinical feature does not rule out the diagnosis of that disorder. Only 53 percent of the mildly depressed patients acknowledges feeling sad or unhappy.
Chief Complaint
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