Psychiatry must recognize the cultural causes of depression and make cultural expertise an essential element of its therapeutic arsenal.
Depression is a culture-bound syndrome
. It is also a terrible real disease.
What is an example of a culture-bound syndrome?
Though “the ethnocentric bias of Euro-American psychiatrists has led to the idea that culture-bound syndromes are confined to non-Western cultures,” a prominent example of a Western culture-bound syndrome is
anorexia nervosa
.
What is a culture-bound illness?
A culture-bound syndrome is
a collection of signs and symptoms that is restricted to a limited number of cultures by reason of certain psychosocial features
. Culture-bound syndromes are usually restricted to a specific setting, and they have a special relationship to that setting.
What mental disorder is depression?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), mental illness refers to “conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior.” These can include but aren’t limited to
depression
, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
How do the culture-bound syndromes manifest?
Culture-bound syndrome is a broad rubric that encompasses
certain behavioral, affective and cognitive manifestations seen in specific cultures
. These manifestations are deviant from the usual behavior of the individuals of that culture and are a reason for distress/discomfort.
What is Pibloktoq syndrome?
A culture-bound syndrome, sometimes called arctic hysteria in English, restricted mainly to Eskimo communities of North America and Greenland, characterized by a
period of fatigue, social withdrawal, confusion, and irritability lasting for a few hours or days
, leading up to an abrupt episode of dissociation that …
Is anxiety a culture-bound syndrome?
Anxiety disorders can be seen across the world; they are not simply a Western phenomenon. A number of
culture-bound
syndromes, or disorders specific to a particular region, resemble DSM-IV-TR diagnoses, but often with a focus that more reflects culturally specific fears.
What is the number one cause of depression?
Research suggests that continuing difficulties –
long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship
, long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses.
What are the 5 signs of mental illness?
- Excessive paranoia, worry, or anxiety.
- Long-lasting sadness or irritability.
- Extreme changes in moods.
- Social withdrawal.
- Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping pattern.
What actually causes depression?
Research suggests that continuing difficulties –
long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship
, long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses.
How is culture-bound syndrome treated?
If there is the presence of associated anxiety or depressive symptoms that may impede the process of therapy,
anxiolytics
or/and antidepressants can be added for the least possible time and in the least possible doses. Lorazepam was found to be most useful at the end of four weeks of treatment.
Why must psychologists be culture-bound syndromes?
First, culture and society shape the meanings and expressions people give to various emotions. Second, cultural factors determine
which symptoms or signs are
normal and abnormal. Third, culture helps define what compromises health and illness. Lastly, it shapes the illness behavior and help seeking behavior.
Is Susto a culture-bound syndrome?
It is described by Razzouk et al. as a condition of being frightened and “chronic somatic suffering stemming from emotional trauma or from witnessing traumatic experiences lived by others”. Susto is classified as
a culture-bound syndrome
, a symptom that occurs and is recognized within an ethnic group.
What is Latah disorder?
Latah is
a culture-bound syndrome from Malaysia and Indonesia
. Persons exhibiting the Latah syndrome respond to minimal stimuli with exaggerated startles, often exclaimning normally inhibited sexually denotative words. Sometimes Latahs after being startled obey the commands or imitate the actions of persons about them.
What causes Pibloktoq?
Causes. Although
there is no known cause for piblokto
, Western scientists have attributed the disorder to the lack of sun, the extreme cold, and the desolate state of most villages in the region. A cause for this disorder present in this culture may be the isolation of their cultural group.
What does Inuit mean in their language?
“Inuit,” meaning
“people
,” is used in Canada, and the language is called “Inuktitut” in eastern Canada although other local designations are used also.
