M. H. Cohen Stuart: Physical masking of depression
Patients and doctors are concerned primarily with psysical complaints and symptoms, when emotional or other psychological phenomena are also present.
Unmasking of the depressive basis of physical complaints requires a careful analysis. This analysis should be based on adequate knowledge of the polymorphous psychopathology of depression, as well on insight into the manner in which the depressed patient lives with his depression and wards off this depression (by defense-mechanisms such as negation, repression, masking).
Such analysis is indispensable to prevent inefficient, useless and dragging treatment owing to pretended physical disturbances. The physical complaints can range widely. Most of them stem from a few main categories: motor disturbances, tiredness, corporization, hypochondriasis, autonomicvegetative disturbances, psychosomatic disturbances.
Origin and background of the physical complaints are outlined by a summarizing description of the depressive key syndrome (the vital-depressive syndrome).