Cultural Illnesses

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #3 September 22, 2011

TOPIC: Cultural Illnesses.

TITLE: bipolar disease vs. witchcraft- are their similarities?

SOURCE: personal observation and experience, internet readings.

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. p. 49, the meaning of illness.

COMMENTARY:
what classifies as a cultural illness? According to Wikipedia, Cultural bound syndrome, aka folk illness, in medical anthropology is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. My mother is diagnosed with being bipolar and in Western Society we define it to be a mental illness where as the individual has mood swings, depressive episodes, and the such. Diagnosis is based on the person's self-reported experiences, as well as observed behavior.There are also many classes of bipolar disorder based on the intensity and how often the moods swings happen. Bipolar disorder is often treated with mood stabilizing medication and, sometimes, other psychiatric drugs. Genetic factors contribute substantially to the likelihood of developing bipolar disorder, and environmental factors are also implicated. What I find interesting is that if my mom were to be placed in a society in southeast Africa, specifically amongst the Chewa of Malawi, they would think that her episodes are the cause of someone that has bewitched her. To them their belief is not as scientific as we would classify it. They believe, RR. p. 49, " illness and death are induced by witchcraft when someone fails to observe some social norm." Their way of curing the victim is first by asking the victim what wrongs they have committed, with whom they have quarreled with, and who is jealous of the them. the "Ill," victim would then consult a diviner to discover the call of the illness. so the way they would go about "curing" my mom is by trying to help her solve any social disputes she has with friends and family. Thus, the Chewa medical theory is a social theory of illness, not simply a supernatural one. these to situations, in my opinion, are the same illness. They both show the same symptoms but have different names. I think the reason behinds the different ideas of curing this illness is based on the cultural beliefs and morals. The Chewa do not agree with our beliefs because they have different lifestyles, and grew up in a different environment that shaped their views, than the western culture.