Our word for ‘depression’? Dalamhati
In everyday language, we use the term “depression” very casually. When something, anything, makes us sad, we might say, “nakaka-depress.” But clinically speaking, depression refers to a negative state of mind that interferes with your everyday life. If a person cannot do their everyday tasks because they have been feeling unhappy for a long time, then that is closer to what “depression” actually is.
Also, a reminder: Please do not diagnose yourself. A licensed mental health professional, such as a psychiatric doctor or registered psychologist, is trained to spot the symptoms and find the best treatment option for you.
Yes, everyone gets sad once in a while. Life is filled with alternating times of joy and sorrow. But when it starts to affect your daily life, such as your relationship with others or your work or studies, then consider seeking professional help.
What do Filipinos call “depression”?
Just because “depression” is an English term and not a Filipino one does not mean we never experience grief or sorrow. We are also human. Part of being human—wherever you are around the world—is experiencing a range of emotions.
In a 1993 paper, Filipino psychiatrist Luciano P.R. Santiago looked into the different linguistic terms that might be useful in understanding depression in the Philippine setting. For ordinary sadness, we might use the word “lungkot.” For a deeper sadness, we might use “lumbay.” For an even deeper, and maybe even long-lasting sorrow, we might call it “dalamhati.”
In the word “dalamhati,” we see our connection to other Southeast Asian languages, particularly Indonesian and Malay. The word dalamhati is a combination of two words: “dalam” and “hati.”
“Dalam” is said to mean either a burden you carry (as in “dala”) or something deep within. The definition of “dalam” as “deep within” is closer to the Indonesian and Malay definition. We also see this in Hiligaynon, with the word “dalom,” meaning depth. Dalom is also what the Ifugao call the world beneath us.
“Hati” can mean a split, or your liver or heart—basically, what gives you life. In Kapampangan, “ate” still means “liver.” Because if you split a person in half, what would you find at their center? Their liver or heart. So “hati,” as both a “split” and “liver or heart,” can refer to what gives us life.
So, when we experience “dalamhati,” we are carrying something in our hearts (“dalang-hati”). A similar term, “pighati,” can be understood as “pigang-piga ang hati,” or “my heart is all squeezed out of tears.”
How we move on
The British psychiatrist Colin Murray Parkes once said that grief is the price we pay for love. Grief is the cost of our commitment to those we care about. It is part of life, and it shows how much we care.
Ask yourself: Why do people cry harder about certain things, and not so much for others? Because we value some things more.
Some theorists believe that depression is a frustration with life. This connects it to the emotion of anger—to galit and poot. Some believe that depression can be understood as anger directed at ourselves. When we cry out—hagulgol, hikbi, hiyaw, iyak, or taghoy—it is the most vulnerable expression of being human.
It is a human thing to experience dalamhati. We are all carrying (dala) something in our hearts (hati). There are many ways that people can deal with dalamhati, once they accept that this is an ordinary human thing. They can seek support from family, friends, or mental health professionals. They can find strength in their religion or take practical steps in changing their own harmful or damaging habits.
Different things will work for different people, and the best we can do, as each other’s kapwa, is to see our loved ones as only human, and be there for them as fellow humans.
After all, “Tao lang din ako…”
