The Culture of Our Discontent

I loved many insights made in this book. As with many conclusions that are drawn from information gained in the fields of evolutionary biology and anthropology, I do not assume that all of the information presented in this book is law. I see the information gained here as a smattering of fact presented in conjunction with common sense conclusions, and the author's bias. It helps my opinion of the book that I agree with many of the conclusions the author has drawn. She brings attention to the lack of real evidence we have that the Western way we treat mental illness is working. She questions the use of drugs in many scenarios, but I believe has a realistic respect for the undeniable aid drugs have given to some who truly need them to function. One of the most interesting points she brings home is that other cultures are worth learning from when it comes to treating mental illness, and even defining it. She calls for those of us in Western culture to drop our arrogance and view even primitive cultures as a source of education about human nature. That outlook, along with the evidence she puts forth made this book a wonderful educational experience for me.



The Following are quotes form the book by Meredith F. Small:


Pg. 127 - Western Culture is no different from any other culture in producing conditions that encourage expression of particular psychologies. We cannot assume that our metal illnesses are all biological - that is, biochemical - while their mental illnesses are all culturally constructed.

Pg. 146
like any good tribe, we have collectively agreed that genes, physiology, biochemistry, and biology are where the answers must lie, even though no one has really demonstrated that our belief system, and our treatments, are any better than poisoning chickens, casting a spell, or trance dancing.

Pg. 149

The author is interviewing Arthur Kleinman, a psychiatrist and medical anthropologist, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Harvard.

What is missing from both diagnoses, Kleinman feels, is an understanding of how the human mind is entwined with the whole experience of being an individual embedded in a family, a culture, and a society. Mind and body cannot be separated, and both are affected by everything else in life.

pg. 156

The Western medical model of mental illness is dangerous because it is arrogant. We have the best medical facilities, the most sophisticated technologies, and the most comfortable life. Surely we should also be the happiest people on Earth. Yet with all these advantages, it appears that mental illness, especially depression, is ubiquitous in Western culture. By unquestioningly accepting out own belief system, we run the risk of not learning from other cultures that might, in fact, be coping much better.