Psychosomatic symptoms are a common presentation of mental health problems in Iran. The word del, which usually means the heart and can signify love, also symbolises the stomach or abdominal region. It can be used with a plethora of words and an online dictionary (http://farsilookup.com) highlights almost 400 words incorporating del.

Del is frequently used to express anxiety and mood-related symptoms: for example, terms such as del-frenzy or del-excitement describe anxiety whereas del-intransigence is worry. Sadness is del-tightness and melancholy del-congestion. Uncertainty is two-del and worry-free is peaceful-del. Whereas cold-del means hopeless, hopeful is warm-del. Black-del is vengeful, lion-del courageous and turbulent-del upset. Whereas stone-del is cruel thin-del is sensitive.

Given the links between mental illness and bowel symptoms this connection is unsurprising. Terms such as ‘stomach aches’ or ‘butterflies’ are commonly used in English and symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting are related to mood and anxiety disorders. Conversely, patients referred for bowel disorders significantly suffer from higher psychosocial distress. Del-pain remains a common method of depicting psychosocial distress among Iranians. Not surprisingly, the word del also crops up frequently in Persian poetry.

The poem is the author's own translation from the original Persian.