How much sense is there to say that mental illness is primarily a western phenomenon?

Question

Although mental illness is widespread in the west, and perhaps western society is characterized in large part by the presence of mental illness, what would you say given the assertion that said illness is largely absent from the east?

Answer 1

the way that mental illnesses manifest themselves varies from country to country, but they are present in all realms of society.

for example, in one society there are almost no reported incidents of OCD, but they have a condition in which men become hysterical with the fear that their penises will fall off. In western cultures, ocd is considered an anxiety disorder and in this other culture this abnormal fear is also considered an anxiety disorder. the point behind this is that both cultures recognize a problem with anxiety but have very, very different ways of displaying and dealing with anxiety.

Answer 2

Mental illness is universally a human condition. Perhaps certain diseases have a higher rate in the West, but I am sure that mental illness effects all people. Often in the East, handicaps and diseases (like mental illness) are considered shameful and not discussed. I have seen this first hand in the Japanese and Chinese community. In the West we have learned that this is not (or shouldn't be) shameful and are discussing openly these "taboos". Also, starting in the 18th and 19th century, the west had begun the examination and classification of mental illness. We have been able to study these phenomena because of the West's wealth and devotion to supporting the sciences. In the East in the past few centuries, the cultures have been plagued by hardships and economic strife (in part due to colonization from the West). The East hasn't had the wealth, development in modern medicine, or openness of culture until more recently. If the word for a mental illness doesn't exist in an Asian language doesn't mean the condition doesn't exist, it just means that it hasn't be studied or acknowledged.

Answer 3

I used to believe what you said. Then i did some reading. There was an awesome article in the Washington post a while back. It said that although there are high rates of diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar in developing countries the relapse rate is much lower. This is due to the continued support of family. The family play an integral role in the care of the person who has the mental illness. People with schizophrenia tend to have a much higher recovery rate for this reason. Here it seems medication management is more important and the family takes a backseat. While confidentiality is so crucial in patient care it hinders the family from playing a role. Confidentiality laws are pretty non existent in the eastern countries. Other diseases such as depression and alcohol dependence do exist in eastern countries. Many families choose not to discuss it outside the home because it is considered taboo. However, there is still unconditional support from the family structure.

Answer 4

well, there are schizos all over the world,, they are obvious, for depression, well take a look at Japans suicide rate, people will tend to suffer more, The guy that is the leader of North Korea is clearly unbalanced,,probably bipolar,,,

mental issues are everywhere,

Answer 5

it just not part of the culture,,,,,,we have so many people over here talking about it,,,its there they just dont openly show it

Answer 6

Over there they just call you crazy.