I was watching TV last night a guest from some part of Africa (not sure where specifically) came on and mentioned that there was no mental illness in her country, everyone "just got on with it".

Why is that? Are we all just a "weaker" race?

I figured third world countries had more suicides than us, there were less treatment options or doctors so if people got depressed they went through with it. I gather there is no support networks for the mentally ill so its not recorded and no one can know if 3rd world countries really do have less mental illness than developed countries.

I dont know what the true answer is but Im hoping I can learn something new today.

[tealBumblebee]

Well this is all my opinion, but I hope this helps:

According to my abnormal psychology book (2013) and class: depression is a worldwide phenomenon. The difference in it is first world countries tend to present it emotionally, and third world countries, physically.

Example: A study of four countries Canada, Switzerland, Iran and Japan found that the great majority of depressed people reported sadness, tension, anxiety, loss of energy, inability to concentrate, feelings of insufficiency, etc.

In contrast, people on NonWestern civilizations (China and Nigeria for example) who were depressed tended to report fatigue, weakness, sleep disturbances and weight loss.

According to the book, the more westernized the country, the more cognitive the depressive symptoms. That lady was wrong. Not that the book is right, but she can not legitimately say there is no mental illness in her country (the odds of her having access to every citizens health records being looked past, its just not realistic.)

Other things to note:
- suicide tends to happen in a larger social setting (high rates in south korea, russia, hungary, germany, low rates in mexico, egypt and greece)

- countries that are largely cathoic, jewish, muslim tend to have low suicide rate (with the exception of Austria who is largely roman catholic and has one of the highest suicide rates in the world)

Another thing to consider is that some of the things we consider "symptoms" of a mental illness, some cultures and religions consider "tradition" or "norm." It really is a pretty subjective issue.

[MotownJohnny]

I saw a discussion of this on another MH forum. People are people. Some cultures may deny it for religious or cultural reasons, some for political reasons. There are definitely MH issues in 3rd world countries. Over a 1/4 million small farmers in India have committed suicide since around 2001-2002-2003 due to economic losses from failed "super crops" of Western bred crops. In war-torn places like Congo, PTSD and depression are rampant. It happens, reporting may be less, diagnosis less due to lack if even basic medical care.

[-jimi-]

If you are in a poor country, if you give up you might just lie in your bed (if you have one) and not feed yourself and no one would think that was mental illness.

Also some cultures think psychosis is not an illness but a thing of witchcraft and evil spirits.

I really don't think we're a weaker breed, but some of us have become spoiled. I don't think you can be spoiled into mental illness though.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I didnt think she was correct in her statement and was a little offended when she said "everyone just gets on with it" I feel this was implying that we give up too easy.

I often wonder if the taliban were given MI tests, would they be classified as sane?

[henrydavidtherobot]

I agree with everyone on here. Plus, since we have less physical needs to take care of, we probably have more time to focus on it and study it.

I don't remember which Middle East leader said it, but one of them claimed there was no homosexuality in his country. Rather than being naive enough to believe they don't exist, I'm quite certain that any homosexuals in that country are forced to stay so deep in the closet they're having adventures in Narnia. I'm equally sure the same is true with the mental illness in that part of Africa.

Even in the US we used to lock our "crazy" family members away in the attic and not tell anybody they were there. Unfortunately, this is made worse by the fact that epilepsy was seen as a mental illness--once it got done being seen as demonic possession, that is. Poor old Great-Aunt Matilda would spend her whole life chained to a bed in the attic, and under cover of night, a family member would bring her food, clean up the messes she'd made all over herself, and maybe even sit and talk to her. But nobody ever told the outside world there even was a Great-Aunt Matilda.

I can't prove it, but I have a theory that this is where the legends of ghosts groaning and rattling chains in attics came from. Let's say Great-Aunt Matilda went into a seizure right when the ladies' club came over for tea. They can't help noticing the moan and the chains rattling. The lady of the house quickly dismisses it. "Oh, pay no attention. We've got a ghost in the attic." Those who have Great-Aunt Matildas chained to beds in their own attics will probably know what's up, but they'll keep silent because if they ask any questions or even acknowledge the possibility of such a concept, it will mean having to admit they've got it in their family too. Those who don't, especially if they're young and/or uneducated as most people were in those days, will likely believe what they're told: It's a friendly ghost.

So yeah, MI was denied here too, and now it seems like it's everywhere, when the only real difference is, nowadays we're talking about it instead of keeping it secret.