The Multivariant Masks of Depression

Many depressive syndromes are manifested initially in a masked fashion that belies their presence even though the masking process varies, depending upon such factors as the age of the patient, ethnic background, socio-economic and sociophilosophic milieu, heredito-congenital processes, and ontogenic development. The author calls attention to a broad spectrum of clinical patterns that may mask or hide a depressive illness. Particular note is made of depressive syndromes that are hidden by hypochondriacal and psychosomatic complaints; this pattern accounts for many if not most of the depressions that confront the nonpsychiatric physician.