Cultural Perspectives on Mental Illness

The World Within a Block

Our brand spanking NEW OFFICE is located in St James Town, which is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in North America, Due to its cultural and minority demographics, St. James Town is often thought as "the world within a block" representing a large range of languages and cultures.

Being in such a culturally rich environment, I have taken a personal interest into attitudes towards mental health, these attitudes tend to vary among;individuals,families,ethnicities,cultures, religions, beliefs and countries.

For Example;
* Hawaiian Culture suggests chewing khat root, and hashish for mental health concerns.

*Indian Culture ties mental health into karma, the idea that one's actions in a past life determines ones present life's successes, seeing ones mental health illness as a result of the past life.


*Malaysian Culture ties mental health to the the Islamic perspective, mental illness is perceived as a consequence of abandoning or neglecting Islamic values, principles and practices.

*Kenyan Culture outlines that mental illness is caused by supernatural powers such as gods and evil spirits;it is also believed that mental illness is an atonement for sin committed by their ancestors.

I believe that in examining and understanding cultural believes we can gain a better understanding on stigma, misconception and also unique approaches to addressing mental health.

I hope you find it as interesting as I do, I encourage you to read more at the link below.

Click HERE to read the full article!