important freedoms we have in America is being able to make our own choices and our freedom to…
How a culture deals with mental health is the result of cultural implications about how not only the mind and body work, but also how the universe works. This includes religion, personal responsibility, and social networks. As a result of the steamrolling of the psyche, other pieces of cultures could get caught up and be steamrolled too. This loss of diversity would highly limit our understanding of the world. Watters doesn’t provide much of a solution to this issue except that Westerners need to acquire an understanding of a culture before bulldozing the existing understandings of mental health.…
However, your child’s response to the medication has been quite erratic but the doctor insists that the routine is followed. Not only are you growing frustrated, but you’re losing faith in Native medicine and so you take matters into your hands by reverting to your own cultural practices. This reluctant attitude similarly reflects the case study from Anne Fadiman’s book, The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down, regarding cultural distinctions between the Hmong and Americans in the United States. There is an infinite difference between the Hmong and American biomedical community as the cultural taboos, differing cultural views towards illnesses and weight are perceived differently, which provokes a higher potential for unsuccessful treatment and can lead to preventable devastating…
References: Balhara, Y. P. S. (2011). Culture-bound syndrome: Has it found its right niche? Indian Journal…
There is no doubt that western developed countries often turn a blind eye to other regions and cultures in the world that are less developed. One such culture that has little recognition is the Hmong, a small tribe in the mountainous region of Laos. After the Vietnam War, the United States experienced a high number of immigrant refugees from Southeast Asia, including the Hmong. A clash of cultures occurred as the Hmong and Americans tried to live together in unity. Perhaps one of the greatest contrasts is the way health is defined. The conceptualization of illness and its treatment in the Hmong community differs greatly from the biomedical model of health in the United States; these differences account for the consequences and inequality between…
Ostensibly, cultural beliefs, traditions, norms, and values have direct effects on the development of psycho- pathology (Rana & Sharma 2013). In effect, these impacts are referred to pathogenic cultural implications. Notably, cultural beliefs were entrenched in the human mind so much so that breaking any taboo was viewed as gross misconduct warranting mental illness. In this regard, cultural portrayal of mental illness was based on the breaking of a taboo. However, scientific research explains that it is the anxiety that follows the breaking of a taboo that causes the development of a mental disorder. Further, research shows that the kind of culture a mental patient comes from can largely…
It can be argued that the Vietnam war forever changed the path the United States took to wage warfare, the hippie movement changed American culture. The Vietnam War shaped warfare forever in that war had always been convention, there was a definite enemy who wore a uniform. The Viet-Cong used guerilla tactics, the act of blending in with the civilian population and conducting hit and run attacks on your numerically superior enemy. The Vietnam war shaped the way that the public viewed the United States government, the war changed the public’s trust in their all mighty government. It may also be argued that the Vietnam war didn’t affect the path that the United States was on in that, as the world became more progressive in their societal advancements.…
Lee, S. E. (2013). Mental Health of Hmong Americans: A Metasynthesis of Academic Journal Article Findings. Hmong Studies Journal, 141-31.…
How is Vietnamese culture any different from American culture? Some people wonder how Vietnamese and Americans are different besides their race. Well, Vietnamese culture is different by their ways of showing affection/greeting, celebrating different holidays, clothing, food, and housing.…
Our golden arches do not represent our most troubling impact on other cultures; rather, it is how we are flattening the landscape of the human psyche itself. We are engaged in the grand project of Americanizing the world's understanding of the human mind. This might seem like an impossible claim to back up, as such a change would be happening inside the conscious and unconscious thoughts of more than six billion people. But there are telltale signs that have recently become unmistakable. Particularly telling are the changing manifestations of mental illnesses around the world. In the past two decades, for instance, eating disorders have risen in Hong Kong and are now spreading to inland China. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become the common diagnosis, the lingua franca of human suffering, following wars and natural disasters. In addition, a particularly Americanized version of depression is on the rise in countries across the…
It is explained in Cultural Formation, a section found in the DSM-5, that the “understanding of the cultural context of illness is essential for the effective diagnostic assessment. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 789).” Cultures have different terms to express psychological distress, a good example is the Cambodian term for depression thela tdeuk ceut , which translates to the water in my heart (Singh, 2015). Not only does the terminology differ depending on the culture, different syndromes can be culturally bound. Such a culture-bound syndrome is susto which appears in different Latin-American country’s and within the Latin-American population in the U.S.…
Asian Americans represent a diverse range of over twenty-nine unique people groups and cultures. Asian philosophy is group-centered rather than individual-centered as Western culture is. While this philosophy is not necessarily wrong, it presents different perspectives and problems of which Western-trained counselors should be aware. A individual’s identity is highly tied into identifying with the culture and customs they from which they come, deviating from culture and tradition such as seeing a mental health professional, is shamed by society. Mental disorders are categorized as “…insanity, a source of shame, or a lack of self-discipline…” (Erwin, Huang & Lin 2002 pp. 623). In most families, strong interpersonal bonds decrease the likelihood and severity of mental illness. However, in Asian American families, due to the tight family cohesion, immigrants and children of immigrants were less likely to seek mental health treatment out of their family’s fear for shame (Ta, Holck, & Gee 2010). Asian American clients are hype aware of maintaining face, especially in society and with authority figures, and showing emotions is seen as improper.…
The following voice project will discuss second generation Vietnamese Americans struggling with cultural expectations. In this assignment, I will discuss an advocacy initiative for this specific population. Immigration status is one of the many issues this specific population may face. It continues to be a politically divisive issue. Lack of American citizenship brings other issues like access to health care. Many individuals are against illegal immigrants having access to health care as well other incentives that come with being a United States citizen. Undocumented immigrants and their children account for 11 percent of people with incomes below poverty level—twice their representation in the total population which is 5.5 percent. (Passel…
The author quotes Brian Gee, executive chair of the National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association, as saying, “‘Mental health is a significant and unaddressed issue.’” Although it can be argued that this quote was said in regards to all mental health issues, the fact that the author specifies Mr. Gee’s position as the executive chair of the National APIA Panhellenic Association shows that there is an interest in this issue from Asian American organizations. The article can also be classified as informative, as it describes Asian American mental health statistics, “The Stigma of Being ‘Crazy’,” “Cultural Considerations,” and “Fighting the Shame of Mental Illness.” It informs through both numbers and personal stories, using varied types of rhetorical appeal to impact the…
Laurie Meyers (2006) explained that according to American Psychology Association “The first national study of Asian-American mental health said that the second generation people are more likely to have emotional disorder than to their immigrant parents” (p. 44). Major depression can be diagnosed by the observing symptoms like disinterest in activities, low on mood, significant weight loss or gain, thoughts of worthlessness or guilt, or thoughts of death or suicide. By the year 2020, depression will be the second largest disease in the world. It currently ranks third in mortality and lost workdays. Approximately 17% of adults report has a major depressive episode at least once in their lifetime. 10% of Americans currently suffer from depression. Three decades of research on mental health shows that Asian Americans have high numbers of depressive symptoms. Research shows that the women of age above 65 have the highest female suicide rate while the Asian American girls with the age in between 15 – 24, have the highest rates of depressive symptoms. (Schoen C, et al, 1997). With respect to whites, the Asian American adolescent boys are twice as likely to have been physically abused, and three times as likely to report sexual abuse.…