Malaise
<p ><b>Malaise</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >məˈleɪz</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key" ><i><b>mal</b>-aze</i></a>) is a feeling of general <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffering" title="Suffering" >discomfort</a> or uneasiness, of being "out of sorts", often the first indication of an<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infection" title="Infection" >infection</a> or other disease. Malaise is often defined in medical literature as a "general feeling of being unwell". The word has existed in the French language since at least the 12th century.</p>
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Malaise is a highly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-specific_symptom" title="Non-specific symptom" class="mw-redirect" >non-specific symptom</a> and causes can range from the slightest ailment, such as an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion" title="Emotion" >emotion</a>(causing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasovagal_response" title="Vasovagal response" >vasovagal response</a>) or hunger (light <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia" title="Hypoglycemia" >hypoglycemia</a>), to the most serious
(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer" title="Cancer" >cancer</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke" title="Stroke" >stroke</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_attack" title="Heart attack" class="mw-redirect" >heart attack</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_bleeding" title="Internal bleeding" >internal bleeding</a>, etc.).</p>
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Generally speaking, malaise expresses a patient's feeling that "something is not right", like a general warning light, but only a medical examination can determine the cause.</p>
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The term is also often used figuratively in other contexts; for example, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics" title="Economics" >economic</a> malaise" refers to an economy that is stagnant or in recession (compare <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_(economics)" title="Depression (economics)" >depression</a>). The term is particularly associated with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973%E2%80%9375_recession" title="1973–75 recession" >1973–75 recession</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaise#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup> A speech made by President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter" title="Jimmy Carter" >Jimmy Carter</a> in 1979 is commonly referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Jimmy_Carter#.22Malaise.22_speech" title="Presidency of Jimmy Carter" >the "malaise" speech</a>, even though Carter did not actually use the term in this speech.</p>