In 1999, the U.S. Surgeon General released a historic, ground-breaking report on mental illness in America. One of its findings, that the impact of culture has been traditionally underestimated, has resulted in more and more clinics opening in the past 9 years that focus more on immigrants’ unique mental health needs. With language and cultural barriers, getting good and timely treatment for a mental disorder can be a real challenge.
Hinton [a clinician who works with immigrants] said each immigrant group has a particular “ethnophysiology,” or the way in which they perceive their body’s inner workings. He said English and German culture often raise “heart-focused” complaints when conveying anxiety, while Latin American cultures refer to attacks of “nerves.”
Hinton said many Cambodians believe in the importance of wind, and that this wind must exit regularly through their feet and hands. But when their extremities become cold, perhaps because of an involuntary physical response to stress, they worry that the wind is becoming trapped in their torso.
It’s a good article and a reminder of how culturally diverse we are, and how traditional mental health symptoms can be completely misconstrued or misdiagnosed by traditional family physicians treating immigrants.
Read the full article: In other countries, symptoms of mental illness vary, with treatments that American doctors are just beginning to appreciate (The Boston Globe)
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