Depression Doesn’t Always Mean Sadness, Experts Say

Jakarta – Many people associate depression with constant sadness, but health experts from Harvard University say it doesn’t always manifest that way. Symptoms can be unusual, including physical pain, sleep disorders, and increased clumsiness.

Dr. Anne Fabiny, of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, explained that people are frequently enough unaware they are experiencing depression.

“It can be difficult to diagnose depression as patients don’t typically present saying, ‘I am depressed.’ They more ofen describe physical complaints, such as pain, memory problems, difficulty sleeping, or changes in appetite,” Dr. Fabiny said, according to Harvard Health.

Dr. Fabiny added that some patients experience more frequent falls due to decreased attention to their surroundings caused by depression.

Depression in men frequently enough presents differently. Instead of sadness, it can manifest as irritability or increased anger.

“Men are more likely to exhibit symptoms like irritability or grumpiness than women,” Dr. Fabiny stated.

“The stereotype of the ‘angry man’ can actually be a sign of depression,” she continued.

Data from the Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports this, showing that adult women experience depression at a higher rate (10.7%) than men (7.7%). However, symptoms are often masked in men.

Older generations are frequently enough hesitant to discuss mental health due to stigma.

“Parents frequently enough think, ‘I’m not crazy. I don’t want people to think I’m crazy,'” explained Dr. M. Cornelia Cremens, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Thus,Dr. Fabiny often avoids using the term “depression” when speaking with patients. She chooses