What Is Culture?
Culture is an umbrella term for the ‘way of life of groups of people, meaning the way they spend their lives. Culture includes the way people dress up, the type of food they like, how people manage their mutual relationships. It also includes the religious outlook of the people composing a culture. Customs, values, festivals all combine to form a part of the culture of a society. According to renowned anthropologist Hofstede, the following are the dimensions which comprise the term culture. They are: Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Power Distance Index (high versus low), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (high versus low). We shall concentrate on Individualism versus Collectivism in this blog.
What is Depression?
According to Harvard Med, Depression is more than a fleeting bad mood. If a person temporarily has a low mood for a couple of days, this state is known as Neurotic Depression. In individualistic societies, single women without jobs fall prey to this type of depression. However, this type of depression does not need much attention except some pep talk. However, these single ladies do not even have the money to pay for counseling. Neurotic Depression lasts no longer than a few days and can be got rid of by some appropriate psychotherapy. However, if this state of mind continues for a longer period of time to affect one’s daily functional routine this state is known as Psychotic Depression. A depressive state to qualify as Psychotic Depression, the low mood should persist for more than two weeks. Psychotic Depression needs medical treatment by a qualified psychiatrist. The psychiatrist prescribes antidepressants (known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) to alleviate the mood of the patient. This type of depression is known as Psychotic Depression. In this paper, the term ‘Depression’ refers to Psychotic Depression.
Depression in Individualistic vs. Collectivistic Society
Usually, cultures in the East are collectivistic in nature. Broadly speaking, most of these societies are also religious in nature. There seems to be a positive correlation between collectivism and religiosity. In many other non-Western societies, a stigma is associated with mental disorders. It is not as if there are no depressed women in these collectivistic societies, but these females fear coming out and accepting that they suffer from depression. In Hindu religion, for example, totems of Rama, Krishna, Laxman, Sita are worshipped if some lady shows signs of psychosis (serious emotional disorder) or depressive state in India.
On the other hand, there is the issue of underreporting by women in eastern societies. This is because of the fear of the high level of retribution and rebuke by society for such a brazen beach of cultural and religious norms. As discussed below, there is this issue of underreporting mentally upset women. Unfortunately, women are relegated to an inferior position to men. Despite high rates of incidence of depression with co-morbid anxiety, many Easterners believe that depression and anxiety are simply a part of life. They do not require medical attention. Also, individuals from collective societies tend to attribute every illness to weak faith in God (Jesus, Rama, Allah). According to all the Holy Scriptures, only the remembrance of God is the antidote to psychiatric/psychological illnesses. The clergy make it a point to apply this kind of rule to the women of the society. Depressed patients are advised to read the Holy Scriptures for a cure. They do not resort to any medical help for their illness. Depressive illness is considered a stigma. This stigma stems in part from the limited knowledge many Easterners have about depression and anxiety. Multiple studies reveal that the majority of Easterners are not aware of mental problems. They exhibit mental problems through psychosomatic pains or somatization (sickness). This apathy towards mental health stems from an overall lack of general education and lack of awareness about psychological, emotional, and mental health. A large number of cases have been reported in the media where patients suffering from Psychotic Depression and hysteria are actually chained and kept in locked rooms, instead of seeking medical treatment. Such a type of so-called treatment is known as ‘cold turkey’.
Africa, according to one society, is more individualistic than collectivistic. On a scale of 0 to 100, Africa scores 65 on the individualistic score as compared to 35 on collectivistic society. Africa is a male-dominated society as the males are involved in fighting to protect their own immediate family members. The more individualistic the country, the higher the levels of depression. Britain topped the list of the most individualistic country in the world, just ahead of the USA, Australia, and the rest of Western Europe, based on research by the Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede. A few countries that are considered collectivistic include Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Venezuela, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and India. The most collectivist countries, South Korea and Chile were far more negative than the most individualist country, the US, with Poland between these extremes in terms of the dimension of negative affectivity.
Depression in Collectivistic Societies in the Eastern Hemisphere
The gender-based depression in Africa women to men is four to men. Usually, cultures in the East are collectivistic in nature. Broadly speaking, most of these societies are also religious in nature. There seems to be a positive correlation between collectivism and religiosity. In many other non-Western societies, a stigma is associated with mental disorders.
Just to give the reader a taste of what happens to gender – specific problems, in Pakistan, domestic violence on women is a key problem. In India, daughter-in-laws are burnt to death on the issue of bringing in less dowry at the time of marriage. It is not as if there are no depressed women in these collectivistic societies, but these females fear coming out and accepting that they suffer from depression. On the other hand, there is the issue of underreporting by women in eastern societies. This is because of the fear of the high level of retribution by society for such a brazen beach of cultural norms. As discussed below, there is this issue of underreporting mentally upset women. Unfortunately, women are relegated to an inferior position to men. Despite high rates of incidence of depression with co-morbid anxiety, many Easterners believe that depression and anxiety are simply a part of life. They do not require medical attention. Also, individuals from collective societies tend to attribute every illness to weak faith in God. According to all the Holy Scriptures, only the remembrance of God is the antidote to psychiatric/psychological illnesses. The clergy make it a point to apply this kind of rule to the women of the society. Depressed patients are advised to read the Holy Scriptures for a cure. They do not resort to any medical help for their illness. Depressive illness is considered a stigma. This stigma stems in part from the limited knowledge many Easterners have about depression and anxiety. Multiple studies reveal that the majority of Easterners are not aware of mental problems. They exhibit mental problems through psychosomatic pains or somatization. This apathy towards mental health stems from overall lack of general and specialized education and lack of awareness about psychological, emotional, and mental health A large number of cases have been reported in the media where patients suffering from Psychotic Depression and hysteria were actually chained and kept in locked rooms, instead of seeking medical treatment.
Africa, according to one society, is more individualistic than collectivistic. On a scale of 0 to 100, Africa scores 65 on the individualistic score as compared to 35 on collectivistic society. The gender-based depression in Africa women to men is four to men. Africa is a male-dominated society as they are involved in fighting to protect their own immediate family members. The womenfolk of African villages are responsible for doing menial work and do not have the resources to seek specialized mental care for their emotional problems. The main problems they face in doing so are poverty, lack of specialized care, and domination of their male husbands. The more individualistic the country, the higher the levels of depression. Britain topped the list of the most individualistic country in the world, just ahead of the USA, Australia, and the rest of Western Europe, based on research by the Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede. A few countries that are considered collectivistic include Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Venezuela, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and India. The most collectivist countries, South Korea and Chile were far more negative than the most individualist country, the US, with Poland between these extremes in terms of the dimension of negative affectivity.
Medical Anthropology
Rates of clinical depression are not lower in the West as compared to the East. In my opinion, the numbers of women with emotional disturbances or mental health issues are not properly reported. This paper brings out the fact that Asians think differently about emotions than do their Western counterparts. It would be pertinent here to discuss the plight of women in the West. In the West, women are considered equal to men in every way. The individualist societies do not realize that although women are considered equal to men, the fact remains that women are different emotionally. They have to earn their own livelihood assuming that most females prefer to stay single. This culture of the so-called equality of Gender does not provide any soft handling of the female gender and instead of providing any relief to women in facing challenges of a tough life, it causes unfair additional pressures on women relief. Thereby, only do changes in one’s understanding of psychological disorders change the prevalence of mental health problems. However, almost everybody in the West is open to discussing their mental health issues. For example in some cultures, post-natal (post-partum psychosis) depression is considered normal while in other cultures it is categorized as an awry mental state, i.e. depression. Culture also appears to influence the way people experience depression. For example, it is very common for Haitians to see their dead ones walking around. This again is a form of depression in the heterogeneous cultures in the US and South America. Britain is the more individualistic the country, the higher the levels of depression. Britain topped the list of the most individualistic country in the world, just ahead of the USA, Australia and the rest of Western Europe, based on research by the Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede.
Interestingly, anthropologists have tried to develop anthropology into a science. For this purpose, the field of medical anthropology has been introduced. Medical Anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that measures the well-being of the members of society. For this, the basic source of knowledge is the culture that pervades the whole social setup. Medical anthropologists examine the health of individuals, larger social formations, and the environment. The factors which affect the health of the members of a society are; interrelationships between humans and other species; cultural norms and social institutions; micro and macro politics; and forces of globalization as each of these affect local worlds. Applied anthropology is one of the most highly developed areas of cure anthropology and, and is a subfield of social and cultural anthropology that examines how culture and society are organized around or influenced by issues of health, health care, and related issues.
What is the definition of a disease to a Medical Anthropologist
Disease, in simple words, refers to a pathological condition of the human body. Firstly, it is objectively measurable. These include tooth decay, measles, or a broken bone or plain fever and similar diseases are examples. In contrast, illness is a feeling of not being normal and healthy. Keeping the same situation in mind, a medical anthropologist measures an individual’s mental and social well-being. To explain it further, if the subject is a recluse or is too socially able, the medical anthropologist will be able to diagnose the mental and social well-being of the individual.
Though it’s possible to be a doctor of anthropology, the title does not refer to a medical specialty in the study of anthropology. The degree itself is properly called a doctor of philosophy in anthropology, but a person who holds this degree may refer to himself as a “doctor of anthropology.”
Significance in Anthropology
In the above-stated thesis, it has been proved that women living in the East and more so in the West are more prone to depression than their male counterparts. The primary reason for this is a restraint on freedom of expression of their emotions and feelings. These females are reservoirs of pent-up feelings and emotions which makes them victims of Depression.
Additionally, in Western societies women are falling prey to depression. However, there is a case of reporting here. In the East, the cases of women reporting depression are very low but the reporting level is right in the West. Secondly, depression in the West is also because of the rate of single mothers.
Giving it a new angle, women might be prone to depression genetically than men. Medical Anthropologists might be working on this line of thinking and they might reach some conclusion after some time. DNA testing might be able to predict whether this newborn baby girl will suffer psychotic depression during the course of her lifetime.
