Culture and Mental Illness

             Mental illness is a universal phenomenon, affecting people of all populations and cultures. The way in which it is manifested is where culture appears to play a significant role. There is no doubt that mental illness exists worldwide today, but the key difference is how it exists. There are many disorders that are culturally-bound such as hikiomori and koro. There are also disorders that appear to be universal such as depression and social anxiety disorder. The link that culture has is the way in which they are manifested. There appears to be varying rates of prevalence worldwide, for example depression is one of the most common disorders in Canada but is very rarely diagnosed in China. The opposite effect is seen when looking at prevalence rates about Social Anxiety Disorder; rates are much higher in countries such as China than they are in the West.

            There is a stigma attached to mental illness in many places around the world, for example in China there is a strong stigma regarding depression, causing people who suffer from depression in China to be less likely to approach a professional to talk about their problems.  In relation to my own life I notice a strong stigma that related to many cases of mental illnesses. For example a good family friend suffers from depression, so much so that she is unable to work. There appears to be criticism regarding whether this is a legitimate form of sick leave. In our Western culture we separate physical and mental illness and therefore people may suggest that it should not imply the same form of sick leave benefits. There has been lots of work done locally to try and eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness, which is great to see these initiatives taking place. Mental illness is still a sensitive issue in many places around the world and can lead to people experiencing and explaining mental illness in different ways.

            A form mental illness that appears to be culturally bound is eating disorders. Eating disorders are unfortunately a very common diagnosis here in the Western world. There is so much media coverage on what the normative body is and the idea body type being slim. This messages we see in the media are negatively impacting many women who feel pressure to try to attain these bodies by going to no ends. I have a friend who is very skinny; she never appears to eat much when I am around and over exercises daily. It is so sad to see people, especially people close to me fall victim to these messages and compromise their health in the process of trying to attain the “perfect body.” These eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia tend to be culturally bound due to the influence of media in our culture. In many cultures around the world it is seem as a form of wealth and status to be overweight. This being said there appears to be a long way to go before any universal standards are created regarding mental heath, as there are so many contributing factors to mental illness.