Diverse Biologies and Experiential Continuities
Tariq Aftab, M. Naeem, M. Masroor, A. Khan in Artemisia annua, 2017
In the Chinese materia medica literature, wherein qing hao is mostly known as cao hao 草蒿, it is recommended for a variety of complaints other than intermittent fevers (for a chronically ordered, comprehensive translation of these recommendations, see Hsu, 2010). Medical historians have been quick in dismissing those as biologically unfounded “culture‑bound syndromes,” “illnesses,” or “sicknesses.” In what follows, we discuss the treatment recommended in the Chinese materia medica from the first century CE to 1596 for such culture-specific notions in light of the scientifically known biological variations of malaria. If the pathology of malaria in regions where it is endemic need not always manifest as fever bouts, its cultural perceptions may vary accordingly. In what follows, we explore what is gained by reading these recommendations as a response with practical significance to the solicitations of the physiognomy of the lived experience of malaria’s diverse biologies.
Severe and enduring mental illness in relation to discrimination, racism, prejudice, ethnicity and culture
April Russello in Severe Mental Illness in Primary Care, 2018
To summarise, the overlap between exotic and Western culture-bound syndromes is as follows: short-lived, dramatic, frightening, symbolic inversion of core valuesnon-dominant individuals in situations of frustrationculture-specific, socially learnt patterns of adjusting one’s situation by mobilising sympathy or guiltresolution by changes in behaviour or expectations of family, partners, line managers, etcthe individual is not aware/responsible because behaviour is attributed to ‘spirit possession’ (wild-man) or ‘breakdown’/’brain storm’/’disturbed balance of mind’ (overdose) (Littlewood and Lipsedge, 1987).
Culture and mental health
Karen Holland in Cultural Awareness in Nursing and Health Care, 2017
Alarcón (2009) suggested that a list of culture-bound syndromes was included in the Appendix I of DSM-IV, but it was incomplete and whilst practically every region of the world has a set of culture-bound syndromes, the descriptions are at times too similar and at others too generic to be useful. That said, it is important to have an understanding that such syndromes exist without necessarily knowing the detail. Specific behaviours and beliefs can then be researched as required in order to critically evaluate a person's presentation and to understand the part that culture-bound syndromes may play in it. With that in mind, the following contains examples of culture bound syndromes as an illustration of this point.
Addressing racism: the role of mental health professionals
Published in International Review of Psychiatry, 2023
Marianne C. Kastrup
The international diagnostic classification systems have been developed primarily by white men – even if there has been a recent awareness also to include other ethnic groups among the experts. Nevertheless, it is a matter of ongoing debate whether different ethnic groups presenting the same symptoms have the same likelihood to receive the same psychiatric diagnosis or even a psychiatric diagnosis at all (e.g. Akinhanmi et al., 2018; Jani et al., 2016). There is a well-founded concern that some clinical algorithms are biased in relation to racial background which needs reviewing. The diagnostic categories culture-bound syndrome, and culture-specific syndrome, refer to combinations of symptoms typically present in non-white persons and a way of marginalising them and the categories are considered as recognisable diseases only within a ‘foreign’ society or culture.
‘Brain fag’: a syndrome associated with ‘overstudy’ and mental exhaustion in 19th century Britain
Published in International Review of Psychiatry, 2020
Oyedeji A. Ayonrinde
The concept of culture bound-syndromes (CBS) has evolved with controversy regarding their nosological and diagnostic stability over time (Kirmayer & Sartorius, 2007; Ventriglio et al., 2016). It has been argued that the Western and ethnocentric nature of earlier diagnostic manuals introduce cultural relativism and bias with questions regarding world views that perpetuate ‘exotic’ syndromes (Ayonrinde & Bhugra, 2014). Furthermore, CBS may indicate the cultural bias of clinicians and researchers with overvaluing etic over emic insights. In the DSM 5, the cultural concepts of distress incorporating syndromes, idioms of distress and explanations recognises that all mental distress is culturally framed. Against this backdrop, this paper revisits the historical and nosological validity of the frequently described syndrome of mental fatigue – the ‘Brain Fag Syndrome.’ (Prince, 1960)
Gaming Disorder: A New Diagnosis? Part 2
Published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2020
Jacquelyn H. Flaskerud
The exact place of hikikomori in psychiatric nosology has yet to be determined. One of the questions raised is if this is a separate culture-bound syndrome. Some authors state that it is not a syndrome, but rather an idiom of distress, which could explain the absence of a standard and unanimously accepted clinical description across the scientific literature. Some even argue that hikikomori might be a non-pathological or dissociative response to distress and be beneficial in terms of social growth and identity construction (with Yong and Nomura disagreeing strongly). Emerging behaviors such as hikikomori may reflect adolescents’ changing relationship with the environment and the family, especially in view of the consequent social withdrawal and the family’s suffering and powerlessness. While there is controversy as to whether hikikomori should be a psychiatric diagnosis or not, hikikomori is usually considered a “disorder” by clinicians in Japan (Stip et al., 2016; Humphreys, 2019).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Alcohol Abuse
- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Medical Anthropology
- Substance Abuse
- Signs & Symptoms
- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Endemic
- Suggestion
- Pathogen Transmission
- Communal Reinforcement
- Environmental Factor