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
The most popular articles
-
Self-criticism is an act of pointing out one’s perceived flaws. It is the tendency to engage in negative self-evaluation that results in fe... -
Double depression is the concurrent presence of dysthymia and major depression, in which acute major depressive episodes appear to be ‘super...
-
Depressive personality disorder can be viewed as a disorder in itself and not simply the expression of a predisposition to depression. One o...
-
Is adolescence really a Period of Storm and Stress? Are adolescents really more likely to experience psychological problems than either chil... -
Post-concussion trauma, often called post-concussion syndrome (PCS), refers to a set of symptoms that persist beyond the normal recovery tim...
