Culture and Depression

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. These culturally coded symptoms may confound diagnosis among Chinese immigrants in the United States, many of whom find the diagnosis of depression morally unacceptable and experientially meaningless; this cultural pattern changes over time but continues to diverge significantly from the experiences of other groups. The pattern of somatization may be unfamiliar to U.S. clinicians and may further complicate the concept . . .