Week 6 - Riyan Lacara

Riyan Lacara
ASA 002 A02
Week 6

The article, "The Americanization of Mental Illness," by Ethan Walters shows how the propagation of a certain way of doing things may cause more harm than good. Specifically, this article centers around mental illnesses and the western ideas about it. It mentions the case of Charlene Hsu Chi-Yang. Charlene collapsed on a street in Hong Kong, due to her anorexia. Up to that point, only a few people within the population of Hong Kong were aware of the disease. After the media had started reporting on the incident, it seemed like "anorexia" was the new buzzword. Due to this spread of awareness, more people gained an understanding of anorexia. However, it was an understanding based upon Western ideas. Also, this article shows a study done by Professor Sheila Mehta. Mehta displayed the difference in attitude between a person who's mental illness is due to "psychosocial" circumstances versus one due to "disease" circumstances. The data of this study showed that we as a society were more likely to treat the person, who's illness has the "disease" explanation, more negatively.

For me, it wasn't hard to see the implications that were being put forth in this article. With an increasingly globalized society, different thoughts and ideas are being spread around the world, whether on purpose or not. And with different countries holding different positions in the international hierarchy it's easy to see how some ways of thinking would overcome others. However, this shouldn't happen. Just because we are becoming more and more globalized doesn't mean that we should let one way of thinking outweigh another. We should make those methodologies work hand in hand in order to come to a better understanding.

Question: Is there a way to balance local attitudes with foreign input?

References

1. Reynolds, E. (2016, June 18). Jo Cox wasn't killed by mental illness, she was killed by a man with a gun. Retrieved May 07, 2017, from http://www.huckmagazine.com/perspectives/jo-cox-wasnt-murdered-mental-illness-murdered-man-gun/
2. Watters, E. (2010, January 8). The Americanization of Mental Illness. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10psyche-t.html