Brain Blogger Home
  • Home
  • About
    • Editor's Note
    • Contributors
  • Advertise
  • Archives
    • By Author
    • By Topic
    • By Year
    • By Month
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Topics
    • Popular
    • Series
    • Video
    • Carnivals
  • Sitemap
  • Subscribe
  • Neuroscience & Neurology
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Health & Healthcare
  • More >>
    • BioPsychoSocial Health
    • Complementary & Alternative Medicine
    • Drugs & Clinical Trials
    • History of Medicine
    • Law & Politics
    • Living with a Brain Disorder
    • Opinion
    • Site News
    • Stigmatization
Brain Blogger RSS Feed

Brain Blogger Feed - 3500+ Readers

Follow BB:

Brain Blogger on FaceBook Brain Blogger on twitter Brain Blogger on Flickr Brain Blogger on YouTube
BioPsychoSocial Health
October 12, 2007

World Mental Health Day: A Cultural Round-Up

By Isabella Mori | 4 Comments | Share | Print | Email | Tweet | Like | 1+

BioPsychoSocial_Health2.jpgOctober 10th was World Mental Health day. This year, the focus was on the interplay between culture and mental health. Let’s see what we can learn on the topic:

Mental health among black and Latino GLBT

Blacks and Hispanics who identify themselves as either gay, lesbian or bisexual report significantly fewer mental health issues than their white counterparts, according to a report conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health…
The finding counters the theory that the opposite would be true. The report’s researchers hypothesized that black and Hispanic gays, lesbians and bisexuals might have additional stress related to racism and homophobia. Lead researcher Ilan Meyer: “These findings suggest that black lesbians, gay men and bisexuals have effective ways to cope with prejudice related to racism and homophobia.”

Mental health in India

The truth remains that it is the lack of awareness and therefore the abundance of prejudice not just at the workplace but also in the immediate and extended family, that keeps the incidence of mental health well hidden in India. Now and then there comes a film, which tries hard to bring up the issue, such as Aparna Sen’s “15 Park Avenue” or Mahesh Bhatt’s “Woh Lamhe,” albeit not without enforcing the same stereotypes of violence, aggression, suicide and such like and then, nothing. Silence.
Things may be changing, if ever so slowly, as you can see from this blog by an Indian mother chronicling her daughter’s schizophrenia. Even so, by and large, the management of mental health issues remains a dominantly NGO activity in India, as captured wonderfully in this book.

Worldwide suicide rates

Speaking of India, as I searched around for an article on suicide, initially sparked by this one about the drop in suicide rates in Finland, I noticed that quite a few people from India seem to be interested in this topic, like Nita, who gives an overview of suicide rates the world over.

She speculates on the reason for the differences between the various countries (Lithuania: 43 per 100,000 versus UK: 6.9) and discusses gender differences as it relates to suicide. Like so many, she makes the connection between suicide and depression. This is what John Banmen, an international expert on suicide prevention, says about it:

Although many suicides have a mental illness component, only a very small number assessed as mentally ill actually kill themselves. Some studies indicate that mental illness, such as depression, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, and personality disorder are found in only 25 percent of suicides.

As an aside, Banmen sees suicide as the end result of an inability to cope. He points to the fact that generally, people on low incomes have a lower suicide rate. Poor people tend to have a high ability to cope, simply because they have to. Perhaps the well-exercised coping skills that come with being a minority also explain why black and Latino gay men have fewer mental health problems?

Mental health among First Nations

Back from the aside – now we’ve gone to the US, India, Finland and all over the world to look for a cultural perspective on mental health. I’d like to return to my home, Canada, for a look at mental health among our First Nations:

Michael McIsaac, who has years of experience providing therapeutic intervention for First Nations, and who has roots in the Ojibway, Cree, Mohawk, and Algonquin cultures, points out:

The problems with urban-based approaches to mental disorders are discussed in a Washington Post article… Carl Bell, a psychiatrist at the University of Illinois in Chicago, says, “This thing called psychiatry—it is a European-American invention, and it largely has no respect for non-white philosophies of mental health and how people function.”

And Dr Marcello Maviglia, a psychiatrist who has worked extensively with Native Americans in New Mexico, agrees, saying, “A lot of minority groups perceive psychiatric interventions as an ideological approach that discounts their own cultures. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to verbalize this, but patients know when you are discounting them, their traditions.”

Isabella Mori

Mrs. Mori is a psychotherapist in private practice in Vancouver. She has been working in the field of mental health, counseling, psychotherapy and movement therapy for 18 years.

Related Articles

  • Curb Domestic Violence/Abuse and Slash the Incidence of Mental Disorders
  • Macroeconomics and Suicide
  • Suicide Rates Could Rise
  • Europe and Suicide
  • Stigma Influences Seeking Mental Health Care
  • Recent Drug Warnings About Suicide
  • Hard Economic Times and Increased Suicide

4 Responses

  1. Ada says:
    May 4, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    Some very interesting theories. It’s very true people who have spent more time struggling with certain situations are in the end tougher to break and don’t easily stray into the realms of suicide. But people who are used to having an easy life and having everything they need, when something goes wrong for them they don’t have any experience to fall back on and support them. It’s a shame mental health isn’t so well addressed in Parts of the world like India that have one of the biggest populations.

    Reply
  1. Health And Fitness Megasite » World Mental Health Day: A Cultural Round-Up says:
    October 12, 2007 at 4:43 pm

    [...] cooper and emily wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBlacks and Hispanics who identify themselves as either gay, lesbian or bisexual report significantly fewer mental health issues than their white counterparts, according to a report conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of … [...]

    Reply
  2. change therapy » Blog Archive » cultural aspects of mental health says:
    October 13, 2007 at 10:58 pm

    [...] here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. thanks for visiting!today you can find me over at GNIF brain blogger. october 10 was world mental health day. it focused on cultural aspects of mental health. [...]

    Reply
  3. Genetics of Suicide, World Mental Health, Self-Harm, and Anger says:
    October 30, 2007 at 11:15 am

    [...] World Mental Health Day: A Cultural Round-Up was an interesting “mental health tour” around the world, looking specifically at [...]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Subscribe without commenting


Popular Posts

  • Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
  • The Science of Stuttering
  • Risks of Personalized Medicine
  • Intelligence - Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
  • Is Grief a Mental Illness?
  • The Brain's Buying Power
  • The Cost of a Good Night's Sleep
  • Inside Your Brain on Holiday
  • Risk Factors for Recurrence of Depression
  • Salvia Divinorum - DEA Control over Magic in the Mint

Future Posts

    Latest Posts

    • A Gateway to Weight Loss?
    • Intelligence – Do You Need it to be Successful?
    • A Trip for Terminal Patients
    • Memory Ain’t What It Used to Be – And That’s Good for Psychotherapy
    • The Science of Stuttering
    • Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
    • Beer – The Smarter Drink
    • Macroeconomics and Suicide
    • From Nymphomania to Hypersexuality
    • Commitment – It’s the new Love

    Comments

    • Mumbai Escorts:
    • brucemclaren: Our company employees are well
    • brucemclaren: Waar gewerkt wordt, kunnen arb
    • Ryan: Great post! I agree with the p
    • : I have used heroin for 20 year
    • Lino Baine: I am not aware that people wit
    • Lulu Jones: Hmm....this is interesting. I
    • Robert A. Yourell, MA: Hi Stephanie...OR they tried a
    • Stephnie: Based on the facts in the arti
    • Sammy: I was a test subject for one o
    • Veronica Pamoukaghlian, MA: Thank you for your insightful
    • Richard Kensinger, MSW: I agree w/ Howard Gardner's pe
    Sponsored Links

    SEO Company, IT Support, Free Cams, addicted, SEO, Designer Wholesale Sources, GNLD, chinese wholesale, memory improvement, Autism News Blog, Neurotherapist, HGH,  Banner Stands ,   Buy Asacol ,   Pain Pill Rehab ,   penis enlargement pills ,   bankers life

    Copyright © 2005-2012 Brain Blogger sponsored by Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation (GNIF). All Rights Reserved.
    Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Feed | Log in | ISSN 1931-6224 | 0.504s
    9rules Network Member