Humoral concepts of mental illness in India

Weiss, Mitchell G.; Desai, Amit; Jadhav, Sushrut; Gupta, Lalit; Channabasavanna, S. M.; Doongaji, D. R.; Behere, Prakash B.

doi:10.1016/0277-9536(88)90370-x

Cited by 64 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Many patients and their care takers usually give priority to the alternative service providers such as traditional faith healers, astrologers and ayurveds 13,14 .They approach such groups because of lack of awareness or the absence of easily accessible treatment facilities especially in developing countries like Nepal, where transportation of medical facilities are scarce in rural areas and the psychiatric facilities are available only at general hospitals and mental hospitals. In the urban areas as well, psychiatrists are preferred as a least priority due to stigma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of help seeking behavior of psychiatric patients

Pradhan

Sharma

Malla

et al. 2014

J. Kathmandu Med. Coll.

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Background: A large number of mentally ill patients prefer to visit non-medical practitioners such as faith healers because of the stigma attached to mental illness and/or belief that mental illness are caused by supernatural powers. Faith healers are more convenient to be approached fi rst because of ease of availability and prevalent cultural belief and persuasion. Objective: The current study aims to fi nd the help seeking behavior of patients suffering from mental illness and whom they approach fi rst once affected, either psychiatrists or faith healers. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among patients admitted in the psychiatric ward of Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital during 1st January to 30 th July 2012. All patients admitted in the ward during that period were informed about the purpose of the study and a written informed consent was taken. In case of psychotic patients, the consent was obtained from nearby relatives. Results: Among 54 patients enrolled in the study, signifi cant number of psychotic patients (n=15) visited faith healers in comparison to only 4 non-psychotic patients. Number of females (n=12) visiting faith healers in comparison to males (n=7) was higher. Patients having belief in black magic were more likely to visit faith healers than those who were nonbelievers. In contrary to the popular belief, patients approaching the faith healers spent more money (>$20) in the treatment than who approached psychiatrists (<$20). Conclusion:The study shows that most of the patients suffering from mental illness prefer to approach faith healers fi rst because of the prevailing trust on faith healers, because they are locally available and because of a prevailing belief in supernatural causation of mental illness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of help seeking behavior of psychiatric patients

Pradhan

Sharma

Malla

et al. 2014

J. Kathmandu Med. Coll.

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“…Furthermore, it can be argued that for many Islamic communities, this belief in the malevolent effects of possession is tied, particularly among South Asian migrant groups in the UK, to persistence in demand for traditional healers to resolve treatment issues associated with spirit possession and the evil eye (Aslam, 1970;Healey & Aslam, 1989;Dein & Sembhi, 2001;Weiss et al, 1988). This close affinity between spirit possession and mental illness is not unique to Islam and similar beliefs are held in Hinduism (Halliburton, 2005), Buddhism (Gaw, Ding, Levine, & Gaw, 1998) and Judaism (Greenberg & Witztum, 2001).…”

Section: The Jinnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Jinn, Psychiatry and Contested Notions of Misfortune among East London Bangladeshis

Dein

Alexander

Napier

2008

Transcult Psychiatry

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This study examines understandings of misfortune among east London Bangladeshis, particularly with respect to the role of jinn spirits. It reports on the findings of ethnographic interviews among 40 members of this community. Appeal to jinn explanations is commonplace at times of psychological disturbance and unexplained physical symptoms. Resort to traditional healers is frequent. These explanations are contested by different groups in the community. The findings are examined within the context of a discourse on tradition and modernity with particular emphasis on Islam and modernity.

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“…The explanatory models of illness are particularly important to understand in the developing world, where these are important determinants of the pathways to care in the absence of specialized mental health services. In India, humoral concepts of illness, such as the balance of wind, phlegm and bile, or the balance between hot and cold in the body or the loss of semen are still reported by patients (Weiss et al, 1988). Jadhav (1986) found that 46% of randomly selected patients reported ' hot -cold ' theories for their distress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A systematic review of explanatory models of illness for psychosis in developing countries

Bhikha

Farooq

Chaudhry

et al. 2012

International Review of Psychiatry

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EMOP in developing countries are rich and varied. The literature reports on a variety of populations using different methods and suffers from methodological limitations. Some recent studies have also attempted to modify explanatory models by using educational interventions; however, this was not examined in patient populations. Further research is needed to examine the impact of different explanatory models on DUP and help-seeking behaviours.

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Humoral concepts of mental illness in India

Cited by 64 publications

References 5 publications

A study of help seeking behavior of psychiatric patients

A study of help seeking behavior of psychiatric patients

Jinn, Psychiatry and Contested Notions of Misfortune among East London Bangladeshis

A systematic review of explanatory models of illness for psychosis in developing countries

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