HLTB21H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Biomedicine
Document Summary
In many parts of chinese society, the experience of depression is physical rather than psychological. Many depressed chinese people do not report feeling sad, but rather express boredom, discomfort, feelings of inner pressure, and symptoms of pain, dizziness, and fatigue. The pattern of somatization may be unfamiliar to u. s. clinicians and may further complicate the concept of depression, which, according to biomedicine, can be an emotion, a symptom, or a disease. Depressive feelings are experienced by all people and are a normal component of disappointment and grief. Depression may be a symptom of a mental disorder (such as bipolar disorder, an anxiety disorder, or schizophrenia) or of other medical diseases, ranging from diabetes and thyroid disorders to postviral syndromes. The rates of depression are increasing, and the disorder is nearly twice as common among the poor as among the wealthy.
