The health beliefs of the Asian patient can have a huge impact on their clinical care. The Asian patient sees health as a state between the social, physical, and supernatural atmosphere, where Western medicine approaches disease as something external that affects the body such as a virus. In Western medicine disease is physical or mental, whereas the Eastern philosophy is the whole body and each of its parts are closely connected and the organs not only have a physical function but also a mental one as well.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a belief system based on opposites, Yin and Yang. Some examples are heaven and earth, north and south, hot and cold, wet and dry, and mind and body which are connected in harmony. The symbol of yin and yang represent the connection of opposites in a circular harmony. In TCM harmony leads to good luck, health, and wellbeing, while to be in disharmony means bad luck, disease and, adversity.
Each person is seen as their own miniature world, and each person has their own unique topography and a sensitive ecosystem that needs to be sustained. Just like a farmer uses water and fertilizer to grow healthy plants, TCM uses herbs, food, cupping and acupuncture to maintain health. TCM has been used for centuries to treat and prevent health conditions except mental health issues.
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Poor mental health means the person is weak, and shameful and it is considered a punishment for the wrong doings of the ancestors. Asian Americans are reluctant to seek help for mental illness because of the stigma. Also, the Asian culture stresses stability and harmony while maintaining composure and control of feelings and behavior. Any behavior seen as abnormal threatens that stability and harmony. If an Asian patient does seek treatment for mental health issues, the provider needs to take into consideration that antidepressants and antipsychotics metabolize slower in persons of Asian
This book addresses one of the common characteristics, and challenges, of health care today: the need to achieve a working knowledge of as many cultures as possible in health care. The Hmong population of Merced, California addresses the collision between Western medicine and holistic healing traditions of the Hmong immigrants, which plays out a common dilemma in western medical centers: the need to integrate modern western medicinal remedies with aspects of cultural that are good for the well-being of the patient, and the belief of the patient’s ability to recuperate. What we see is a clash, or lack of integration in the example of the story thereof. Lia, a Hmong child with a rare form of epilepsy, must enter the western hospital instead of the Laotian forest. In the forest she would seek out herbs to remedy the problems that beset her, but in the west she is forced to enter the western medical hospital without access to those remedies, which provided not only physical but spiritual comfort to those members of the Hmong culture. The herbs that are supposed to fix her spirit in the forest are not available in the western hospital. The Merced County hospital system clashes with Hmong animist traditions.
Culture is a collection of religion, traditions, and beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture is created and maintained through the repetition of stories and behavior. It is never definite because it is continuously being modified to match current trends, however, historical principles are still relevant. With respect to mental illness, culture is crucial to how people choose to deal with society and the methods used to diagnose and cope with mental illnesses. In Watters’ The Mega-Marketing Depression of Japan, he focuses on how Japan and other cultures define depression, but also displays how the influence of American treatments in eastern countries eventually becomes the international standards. Even though the
The dominant biomedical model of health does not take into consideration lay perspectives (SITE BOOK). Lay perspectives go into detail about ordinary people’s common sense and personal experiences. A cultural perspective, like the Hmong cultures perspective on health, is considered a lay perspective. Unlike the Hmong culture, where illness is viewed as the imbalance between the soul and the body, the dominant biomedical model of health views health in terms of pathology and disease (SITE THE BOOK). Although the Hmong culture considers spiritual and environmental factors, the dominant biomedical model of health only looks at health through a biological perspective, and neglects the environment and psychological factors that affect health. Depression in the U.S. is a medical illness caused by neurochemical or hormonal imbalance and certain styles of thinking. Depression is the result of unfortunate experiences that the brain has difficulties processing (SITE 7). Unlike the Hmong culture, where Hmong’s who are diagnosed with depression report the interaction between a spirit, people diagnosed with depression in the Western culture report themselves to having symptoms such as feeling tired, miserable and suicidal (SITE
The roots of the practice of acupuncture can be traced back to about 2000 years in Chinese medicine where it was used as a major traditional healing method (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). It is classified as an alternative medical system that involves the use of imperceptible networks/channels all through the body. Along with acupuncture, other forms of alternative medical systems include Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine. These networks are referred to as meridians, by which energy streams through the body (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). The energy is referred to as Qi (pronounced “chee”). It is believed in traditional Chinese culture that Qi holds a dynamic life force, and when there an imbalance of this energy; illness as well as symptoms cultivates.
Mental illness is more common than one would like to believe. In reality, one in five Americans will suffer from a mental disorder in any given year. Though that ratio is about equivalent to more than fifty-four million people, mental illness still remains a shameful and stigmatized topic (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The taboo of mental illness has an extensive and exhausting history, dating back to the beginning of American colonization. It has not been an easy road, to say the least.
Through showing the different definitions of health, the authors explain how those different understandings affect patterns of behavior on health depend on different cultures. In addition, an analysis of the models of health demonstrates even western medical approaches to health have different cognitions, same as the Indigenous health beliefs. The most remarkable aspect is a balance, a corresponding core element in most cultures which is an important consideration in Indigenous health as well. From an Indigenous perspective, health is considered as being linked, and keeping the connection is a priority to preserve their health. Consequently, health is a very much culturally determined. Health practitioners should anticipate and respect the cultural differences when they encounter a patient from various cultures. In particular, this article is good to understand why the Indigenous health beliefs are not that different than western medicine views using appropriate examples and comparative composition, even though the implementation the authors indicated is a bit abstract, not
According to Kramer (2002), Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States; growing from fewer than 1 million in 1960 to 7.2 million in 1990. But despite this ongoing rapid progression, Asian Americans have the lowest rate of utilization of any professional mental health related services than the general United States population (Tung 2011). To increase the utilization of mental health services among the Asian American community, the most hindering barriers that exist preventing Asian Americans in general from seeking out these services must be identified and explored. In spite of the fact that Asian Americans are viewed as the “model minority”, with high academic achievements and few mental/behavioral problems, studies
Mental illness is an addition to all of the previously listed perceived disadvantages of Native Americans by those of other ethnicities. Many believe that Native Americans are at a higher risk for mental illness than those of European descent. Many also believe that Native Americans have more people suffer from depression than their white counterparts (Stark & Wilkins, American Indian Politics and the American Political System, 2011). There have been studies conducted to test whether or not this is the case, with mixed results. Some studies say that Natives are at a higher risk and others say they are not. This discrepancy makes the answer unclear. If Natives are actually at a higher risk for and have more people suffering from depression than individuals of European descent, the question to ask is, “why?” Several factors play into depression and other mental illness, including biology, social standing, history, family, and any preexisting/comorbid diseases that could contribute to or cause depression.
In the book The Spirit Catches you and you Fall Down, ethnocentrism can also be seen. Throughout the book the family and the doctors have different ideas of medicine/healing techniques are often disagreed on. It’s important for the doctor to see that biomedicine has its own intentions of saving patient through standard procedures and beliefs. Understanding those terms will shed some light on the culture of the patient, which has their own intentions, beliefs, and rules as well. Breaking down ethnocentrism to find an agreement is a good goal to accomplish in order have successful prognosis and healing. In addition, shedding the ethnocentrism will allow the doctors to see the different cultural beliefs and not judge right away. Although, some cultural remedies may not always work, it’s wrong for people to have the mindset of ethnocentrism without even considering their beliefs first.
The Asian cultures make up a large portion of the world’s population, so being able to understand their way of dealing with psychological disorders is important. The way most of the Asian cultures view mental illness is vastly different from how Western cultures view mental illness. In a study it showed that “Asian Americans show stronger implicit mental illness stigma compared to Caucasian Americans” (Cheon & Chiao, 2012). One reason for this is that in Asian cultures they are more likely to attribute mental illness with some type of supernatural cause. This could include punishments by god or ancestors that they did not please by bad behavior or they may believe mental illness could be a result of a possession by an evil spirit. These types of beliefs lead to a stronger stigma against mental illness in Asian cultures. Since they believe that it can be caused by ...
As I learned more and more about different forms of healing other than western medicine, I became fascinated with the idea of qi, meridians, and the interactions between the different elements in traditional chinese medicine. Although I wanted to try acupuncture, because this seemed to be the most interesting way to go about finding out more about this form of healing I started talking to a massage therapist, who has been a good family friend for some time,who also showed great interest in the ideologies behind traditional chinese medicine.
...ible Barriers to Enrollment in Substance Abuse Treatment among a Diverse Sample of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Opinions of Treatment Clients, 2013, p. 9). Loss of confidentiality pertains to cultural barriers, “AAPIs place a significant emphasis on appearances of normal functioning” (Fong MD & Tsuang MD MS, 2007, p. 56). Asian Americans do not like asking for help, they fear the stigma that will come from it. “AAPI have a holist view of health and oftentimes view mental and addictive disorders as a medical problem, a sign of weakness, or a lack of willpower over Western temptations” (Fong MD & Tsuang MD MS, 2007, p. 56). There are also practical barriers that cause a lack of treatment. Cost of care and deficiency of culturally competent services were listed in a study by Fong and Tsuang (Asian-Americans, Addictions, and Barriers to Treatment, 2007, p. 56).
Cultural blindness can lead to misconceptions and the inability to treat patients efficiently. Culture, religion, beliefs, values, social economic standings, education, mentality, morals, and treatment are all different from person to person, community, and groups. These barriers can be overcome by treating each patient as a unique individual and seeking to learn about cultural beliefs and differences, without reservations or pre-judgments but with an open and willing mind. These inhibiting barriers can be crossed through acceptance and commonality can be established. Through Patient-centered communication and attentiveness to the patients’ interpretation, discussion of lifestyle and treatment choices in an open and non-judgmental manner, and understanding of patient views, concerns and information needs can lead to cultural sensitivity and appreciation (Dean, R,
Energy constantly flows up and down these pathways. When pathways become obstructed, deficient, excessive, or just unbalanced, Yin and Yang are said to be thrown out of balance. This causes illness. Acupuncture is said to restore the balance.
Mind, body and soul co-exist in the Eastern Culture. “The Eastern idea of health and disease is look upon as the two sides of a coin…Every individual person is in a state of balance between external insults and internal defensive mechanisms.” ( Tsuei 1978). For example the Eastern approach takes in account of heavens and the earth” ( Tsuei 1978). If in curing the sick you do not observe the records of heaven nor use the principle of earth , result will be calamity.” ( Tsuei 1978). The Eastern culture looks at the universe and the laws of nature, in choosing treatment for their