Symptoms And Symptoms Of Ghost Sickness

Introduction The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman (1997), is a book that details the complicated journey of Lia Lee and her family, who were Hmong refugees living in Merced, California. Lia had a severe form of epilepsy that caused her to have many hospital visits and interactions with the health care system, where she received subpar care because of the language and cultural differences between the health care providers and her Hmong family. This paper will identify one social issue illuminated by Fadiman's (1997) case study and suggest one practice and one policy change at each of the micro, mezzo, and macro system levels. Furthermore, each social issue and corresponding practice and policy change is tied to the central

Anne Fadiman’s novel The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down depicts the colliding worlds of the Western and Hmong culture in an effort to save the life of a little girl, who is diagnosed with epilepsy. The novel tells two different, but interwoven, stories in which one from the point of view of Lia’s parents, and another from the point of view of health care providers. Both Lia’s parents and health care providers want the best for Lia Lee, but due to a lack of understanding and cultural barriers, result in the tragedy of Lia. This article explains how anthropological concepts are applied into the novel, and how themes of culture and cultural misunderstanding impacted Lia’s parents and the health care providers resulting in a tragedy.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a piece of journalism that demonstrates the clash between western medical practices and that of the Hmong culture. Both the physicians and Lia’s family are trying to do their best to improve Lia’s medical condition but the two cultures’ idea of treating her epilepsy contradict each others. Additionally, western medical culture and Hmong culture have different definitions for Lia’s illness. The western definition of her illness is epilepsy meaning a disruption of the electrical signals in the brain and the Hmong definition of epilepsy is soul exiting the body. As a western reader through the emersion in your culture you are subjective to have the opinion that the western way for handling epilepsy is the right way and from the Hmong perspective they are naturally subjective to think that the Hmong way of handling the epilepsy is the best way. There is not a clear answer to which way is the right way to handle Lia’s medical situation without being bias of your own culture. Not one way of medicine is better than the other, they are just different. The Hmong definition of medicine is takes a more personal holistic and spiritual approach in contrast to the westerner’s definition having an objective scientific approach. Although we cannot conclude which way of handling Lia’s medical situation is clearly the right way the one thing that is certain is that the two different cultures disrupt each other’s care for Lia. Fadiman’s journal on

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

In the Mexican culture treats physical and mental illnesses as one. They consider emotional, spiritual, social and physical factors are contributors to disease (Santana & Santa, 2005). These illness measures as a social crisis affect the entire group.

When a friend says that they are ill, say they have a cold of the flu, we immediately recognise this as a physical illness and therefore we assist them in their recovery, empathise with them and give them time to get better. However, if they were to have said that the felt run down or depressed, they wouldn’t have been given the same treatment. In most cases, people suffering from these diseases are told that their illness isn’t real, to toughen up and get over it. This blatant disregard for the health of these people leads to their death. 8 million people die from a mental illness each year, with many of these being caused by suicide. And to think that many of these people could have been saved if someone had helped them. Helped them to see that what they are feeling is real and that they can receive help for what they are going through. But how will anyone ever truly receive help if we fail to recognise what they are going

The ‘medical model’ (Beecher, 2009), also called the ‘biomedical model’ (Germov, 2009), basis its beliefs on the theory that there is not a connection between the mind and the body (Sarafino & Smith, 2014) and illness is caused by ‘biological’ (Germov, 2009) factors that can be diagnosed and treated with medications (Germov, 2009). The biomedical model becomes problematic when applied to the treatment of mental health illness due to the cause being widely unknown and so how can mental illness be successfully treated using this model? Social factors that may have a contributory effect or allowance for preventative measures to be implemented are also not taken into consideration with the ‘medical model’ (Germov,

When people think of an “illness” they typically don’t automatically think of mental illness. They think about HIV, cancer, or even a cold or flu. However when it comes to mental illness it is a whole different idea. But is mental illness even real? Addressed in the book, The Myth of Mental Illness (1961), a psychiatrist Thomas Szasz argues that the idea of classifying psychological and emotional difficulties as “illnesses” takes away sense of control. Instead of holding people personally and morally responsible for their actions, he states, doctors attempt to “treat” the person, often with medications. Diagnosing mental illness, on the other hand, argue that mental disorders are as real as physical diseases and diagnosing them allows people

Native Americans believe that people can get ill from an imbalanced life or diseases (Schwing, 2008). Lori had seen this many times with her patients in the hospital. When the people in the operating room were not balance with themselves and each other Lori noticed that the patients had rougher recoveries. Once she started to notice this she

When sick with an illness they feel that they must engage in positive actions. To prevent illness, they must be clear and relieved of negative imprints that the world may bring their way. Buddhism has a strong belief that anything that occurs to them now is a reflection of a previous action, not only in this current life but of previous lives too. The Buddhism religion believes that the start of all problems stems from selfishness; one must avoid greed, anger and thoughts of jealousy. When death occurs they feel that their consciousness that holds their karmic imprints separates from their body and travels into a new life. Meditation and visualization are used to heal by reciting mantras and use of visualizing holy images (Hawter, 1995).

After people began to see the horrors of the mental asylums, the ideas of how to care for the mentally ill had to change. As treatments improved to pharmaceuticals and other methods, the common names of disorders began to emerge. Disorders such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia came to be public knowledge. The idea that the problem of mental illness had an actual reason caused others to realize other than supernatural reasons were realized for a reason why all of the people who had mentally disorders were considered crazy. Many neurobiologists have found that these mental illnesses came from a mix of reasons like chemical imbalances, life experiences, the environment the fetus lived in, or inherited traits. From the 1800’s to the present day, many people did not, and still do not, go to the proper places to

Culture-bound syndromes as therefore comprised as several different illnesses and afflictions. LaVeist and Thomas (2005) thoroughly expresses the dynamic nature of culture-bound syndromes when they state:

Mental health illnesses affect everyone. It is highly prevalent affecting people of all ages, gender, cultures, and social groups. Attitudes towards mental health illnesses vary among individuals and often are highly influenced by the various cultures that the individuals identify with. Culture as a social concept can be defined as a set of norms, values, behaviours, and beliefs that are common and shared amongst a group of individuals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Culture can be applicable to groups like Asians and Americans but also to groups of shared norms, beliefs, and values established within professions such as the culture of patients and practitioners. Culture provides these groups with structure and context to understanding their society and the world as a whole. Culture influence a wide range of aspects of mental health, including how mental health is perceived by the patient, how the patient will experience mental health stigma, and how they cope with symptoms of mental health illness. Additionally, these cultural influences impact the relationship between the patient and the practitioner in a number of ways.

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Every culture has its own views of health care, diseases, and medical interventions. The way people of a given culture view health care affects how they handle themselves when they fall ill. For instance, the Asian culture believes that illnesses are caused by supernatural phenomena, which should be diagnosed and treated by means of spiritual healing or traditional herbs. Physicians and other medical practitioners should try to understand the cultural beliefs of their patients to handle them appropriately.