Culture Bound Syndrome Essay

Culture-bound syndrome is a broad normality that incorporates certain behavioral, affective and cognitive phenomenon seen in different cultures. The phenomena are irregular from the common behavior that the individual of that culture might exhibit. The dynamic nature of the category makes it difficult to define and has lead a dispute on what would be the most proper name and definition for it. The DSM-IV (appendix I, p.844) defines culture-bound syndrome: recurrent, locality-specific patterns of aberrant behavior and disturbing experience that may or may not be linked to a particular DSM-IV diagnostic category. Many of these patterns are indigenously considered to be “illness”, or at least disorders, and most have local culture names. People
First gestated in the 1930’s the term Taijin Kyofusho captured the interest of professionals and researchers due to the popularly of it growing in the Japanese societies. It is seen in Japanese individual’s that experience excessive fear that his or her body, it’s sections or functions, annoy, or embarrasses their community in an offensive manner through their appearance, odor, facial expressions, or movement. Taijin Kyofusho focuses on the concerns about embarrassing oneself around other people. It is considered to be developed from their childhood history of social inhibition and shyness but could appear at any moment. This differs from the social anxiety we in the West are more recognizable, where the sufferer is afraid that other people are judging them. This shows how Japan is different from Western countries- focus their attention to conforming to the people around them, while Americans center around the individual. The stress that it creates to conform to the people around them leads to Taijin Kyofusho. Taijin Kyofusho is a syndrome unfamiliar to Western Society. Americans tend to be more individualistic and the pursuit of ambitious goals is a sign