Many Western groups advocate viewing mental health issues from a medical model.

Question

Many Western groups advocate viewing mental health issues from a medical model. Providers of mental health services and advocates for the mentally ill use this medical model with the intention of reducing the stigma placed on the individual diagnosed with the mental illness. Yet, consider the startling finding that, “those who adopted the biomedical and genetic beliefs about mental illness were most often those who wanted less contact with the mentally ill or thought of them as dangerous and unpredictable” (Watters, 2010, p. 173). Western conceptualization of mental health and illness has spread across the globe and impacted how individuals are treated. For example, cultures may have initially been more tolerant of these behaviors due to factors such as externalized locus of control, beliefs in traditional healing, spiritual beliefs, and less expressed emotion. (Watters, 2010)

For this Discussion,

Select a culture and consider how this culture perceives mental illness.

With these thoughts in mind:

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1. Your definitions of good mental health and poor mental health.

2. Explain two ways your own culture influences your definitions of mental health.

3. Then explain how your definition of mental health might differ from that of your selected culture.

4. Finally, describe a behavior that is considered normal in your culture but would be considered abnormal in the culture you selected.

Support your responses using the Learning Resources and the current literature.

Explanation / Answer

1. Good mental health is acondition in which the person is physically , emotionally and psychologically fit and fine . If aperson is in a good mental health then they take rational and sane decisions, they are able to cope with daily pressures and stressors effectively as compared to people with poor mental health . A person with poor mental health can not take rational and sane decisions and is unable to solve daily problems.

2. In india people still hesitate to call for psychological help when needed . For us taking medical help from a doctor is absolutely fine and necessary but when its about taking psychological help from a professional for improved mental health , we still hesitate . Secondly in our culture poor mental health is mostly associated with some supernatural forces acting upon the body. We have now developed and changed but there are still some parts in our country where cause of psychological disturbance is considered to be some supernatural powers.

3. In myculture less focus is given to the mental health than the physical health . People here will seek immediate help is they have a stimach ache or any other physical issue but they will think teice before seeking help for mental weekbeing and support .

4. A very small example would be in other countries and western cultures , people patiently wait at the red loghts while driving .whereas in India people hardly follow traffic rules . So a person in the western culture who does not wait at the red light amd crosses the light will ne comsidered to be as doing an abnormal behaviour . Whereas if the same behaviour is repeated here it will be considered as normal.

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