Depression in India
Cultural Aspects
Cultural Aspects include the beliefs, values, behaviors, norms, and social customs of people in India and how those things affect the problem of depression.
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Evidence indicates that the culture of India affects depression in the following major ways:
REASON
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In India, traditional Hindu culture has no concept of depression. Some people in India perceive mental illness to be a curse caused by the evil eye or demonic spirits, others believe it is a sign of weakness, and some believe they are neurobiological disorders.
Culture And Depression
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A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) tested how different people from different cultures reacted to symptoms of depression. East-Asian individuals reported feeling more of the physical symptoms such as headaches, poor appetite. North American participants reported feeling more psychological symptoms such as feeling sad, crying, and a loss of self confidence.
Cultural dimensions of clinical depression in Bangalore, India
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Findings show that it is important that health professionals attend not only to questions of diagnosis and clinical aspects according to professional concepts, but also to the meaning of their patients' problems. A cultural epidemiological framework facilitates this process by integrating emic and etic perspectives.
The Silence About Mental Health in South Asian Culture Is Dangerous
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According to the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), South Asian's between the ages of 15-24 were most likely to exhibit depressive symptoms. Another APIAHF report found that there was a higher rate of suicide among young South Asian women than the general U.S. population, and South Asian's had the lowest rate of utilization of mental health services.
REASON
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Many people in India are judgmental of others with mental illnesses, including some health providers. This makes it hard for people to seek help when they are struggling with depression.
REASON
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Cultural factors influence understanding, presentation, diagnosis, management, course and outcome of mental illnesses. In India, many do not have access to resources to learn how to deal with their depression, and therefore do not end up receiving any treatment.
What If You Grew Up Depressed in a Culture That Doesn't Acknowledge Depression?
Gayathri Ramprasad grew up in Bangalore, India, where traditional Hindu culture has no concept of depression. Some people in India perceive mental illness to be a curse caused by the evil eye or demonic spirits, others believe it is a sign of weakness, and some believe they are neurobiological disorders.
How Culture Affects Depression
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Many risk factors for depression are similar between cultures. They include, but are not limited to gender, traumatic events, and unemployment. Much of depression revolves around loss, and it is how people deal with loss that varies greatly between cultures. Having social stability and functional relationships are two major factors for protecting against depression.
The Cultures of Depression
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This article explains how depression is defined in different ways among different cultures. Not every country, culture, or religion defines it the same. The confusion comes from the fact that core depressive symptoms, such as sadness and feelings of hopelessness are also found in medical diseases, as reactions to stress and as part of normal mood.
India's Shocking Attitudes Towards Mental Illness
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In a survey of 3,556 respondents from 8 cities across India, 47% could be categorised as being highly judgmental of people perceived as having a mental illness. What’s worse is that 26% were categorised as being afraid of the mentally ill. Most of the people who gave these responses were from higher socioeconomic classes.
Sociology Of Depression - Effects Of Culture
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A new branch of medicine, known as ethnomedicine, focuses on the role of culture, perception, and context in shaping someone's physical and mental health. Ethnomedical research suggests that cultural differences in focusing on oneself and one's place within the social hierarchy are linked to the prevalence of depression.
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Depression In Indian Women: The Why And How Of It
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A culture of neglect and prejudice brings out the skewered statistics of suicides and depression in women. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in women in India. We can't change the country or the statistics right now, but we can look out for the signs of depression in women, and help them speak out. We can also talk about depression, spread awareness and reduce the social stigma around getting help for mental health problems.
INDIA MATTERS: DEPRESSED AND YOUNG
This video explains the prevalence of depression among young people in India. It affects many young Indian individuals; 1 in 4 will have depression before the age of 25. In their culture it is not always encouraged for them to seek help from a health professional or to even talk about their feelings and struggles out loud.
IF PEOPLE TREATED OTHER ILLNESSES LIKE THEY TREAT DEPRESSION
In India, depression is often not treated like the true mental illness that it is. Many people with depression will avoid seeking help for it because they are afraid they will not be taken seriously or that they will be told to just "cheer up". This video shows how it would be like if we were to treat other illnesses (mostly physical) as if they were a mental illness. Mental illnesses can have just as many effects on the body as a physical illness, if not more.