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mental illness in developing world - Coggle Diagram
mental illness in developing world
modernization
increase in mental illness
population increase
increased life-span
dementia more common
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U1m1Z2SVHaJ4g2nC4SMUzjmkTMZDHoFKDxkfPQ6lFQ8/edit
Western psychiatrists
4 myths that halt the progress of research
Myth #1 forms of mental health do not vary in prevalence between countries
Myth centered on the noble savage- someone who has not been corrupted by the modern civilization- has been disproven by psychiatric anthropologists and cultural psychiatrists when they noticed that there were higher rates of depression among Nigeria Yoruba tribe than in a county in Nova Scotia, among other similar cases..
myth 1.1 the uniform assumes that there is a uniform distribution of mental illnesses around the globe, meaning that if there are 3 people in america with schitzophrenia, then there are only 3 people with schitophrenia in antarctica, or india, or any other country
Myth 1.1 was disproven by many studies showing that the prevalence of mental health varies from cultures and is affected by things such as socioeconomic status and gender.
Myth #2 pathogenetic/ pathoplastic dichotomy- the belief that biologically, mental illnesses are the same by people will have different reactions to mental health because of differences in cultures.
Biology shows that culture affect the type of disorder or the content. biology says that if someone has schizophrenia they will have delusional thoughts, and cultural beliefs affect the content of the delusional thoughts
While this idea is useful to an extent, it is being pushed too far and becoming counterproductive in treating and depression.
Myth #3 the myth that there are exotic mental health problems that do not exist in the west.
The concept of exotic mental health issues is acknowledged by the DSM4, but researchers are less willing to accept the idea of metal illnesses that are unique to North America.
Myth #4 people who think that there is nothing that can be done about mental health problems. (this is believed by international health experts who already ignore mental health issues.)
This is disproven by the fact that there are medicines that can be distributed, and some developing countries have begun to build their own psychiatric facilities that actually help people.
FUTURE STEPS
Instead of looking only at biological foundations researchers are missing the opportunity to test the way that human cultures and environments shape the formation, distribution, and manifestation of disorders.
Need more funding allocated to mental health care, not just physical care..