Mental Illness in Arabian Women - Assignment Example

Universal Statement Women all over the world are different from men in nature and also in composition not only externally but also internally, their harmonial composition is a whole lot different from men and they go under harmonial changes every now and then and hence it is very important and difficult to strike the right balance. There are some changes that cannot take place in a man, for example the harmonial changes that take place while being pregnant and this has a huge affect on the way women look at themselves and also at the world around themselves.1 Mental illness: Any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma; also called emotional illness, mental disease, mental disorder (American Heritage Dictionary). In some parts of the world, mental illnesses to this date have been treated as being possessed by someone or something and there is no doubt that culture plays an important role in determining the mental health of a person and also in the treatment of any mental illnesses if any. There exists a void between the treatment and diagnosis of mental illnesses in the east and the west, the west with their open minded and scientific approach have been able to logically sort out the mental conditions that a person passes through but the east with their conservative approach and their belief in religion as being the sole savior has led to a complicated blend in the eastern society where the elite have been able to break the shackles of the conservative approach and deal with their mental health issues but the majority still suffers because of the conservatism and also because of the fear that they might be alienated from society if they try to break free of the shackles of conservatism. Mental illnesses are developed for several reasons; they might be genetic or inherent, caused due to childhood events and may be due to the societal alienation or even because of strained relationships between loved ones specially parents. The cultural relativism has now to be taken into consideration because to deal with people from certain backgrounds you need to have knowledge of where they come from, what their norms are, what their society is like, what their religious beliefs are and how committed they are to following these beliefs. These are the reasons that have led to the study of diverse societies of the world and a few from the Arabic world are listed below(www.psych.org/edu/) The following information is taken from a paper that studied post partum depression in women from the gulf region who are now based in Australia.2 a) Lebanese: The Lebanese are made up of several groups and they do not have a common language to bind them together, they are also divided on the religious front along sectarian lines. The cultural values of Muslims need to be taken into account when they give birth to a child because a mother in Islam is a very revered status. Special care should be taken when giving out advice. b) Egyptian: The Egyptians have migrated to Australia in 3 major cycles and they have a very strong sense cultural bonding, they commonly refer to themselves as Egyptians but basically there are two types the Muslims and the Coptic. c) Palestinian migrants: The Palestinian migrants migrated to Australia due to the war with Israel and the Palestinians have a very strong bond with their religion and anything out side Islam is considered to be illegal and would be argued against most vehemently. The findings of this study indicate that postpartum depression was there because of several reasons listed below: i) Loneliness due to isolation and lack of social support: In cultures such as the Arabic one, social support is immense for women who have just delivered, there are relatives coming over, people staying back to help and people giving tips for the child. This lacked in Australia for these women and hence they experienced postpartum depression ii) Helplessness: Arabic women feel that they do not have the support of their families in Australia and hence they find it very difficult to cope up with the dual role of being a wife and also a mother. These feelings often resulted in women crying for no reason at all, indicating depression and mood swings. iii) Fear: The fear of being labeled a bad mother was immense amongst the first time Arabic mothers because they have to behave very smoothly during pregnancy and fulfill the role of being a traditional wife with out complaining. iv) Insufficient Knowledge: Most women from the Arabic world did not have any idea about what postpartum depression is and only came to know when this condition was diagnosed at the clinic in Australia, women feel that it is good to have knowledge about postpartum depression because that would enable them to do something about it because then they would know that this is a medical condition pertaining to mental health. v) Coming to terms: Arabic community centers in Australia became the main diversional activity for these mothers and they report that having social support did relieve them a bit of their conditions.(International Exchange-Jeanne Raisler). There are several other types of mental diseases commonly dispersed through out the Arabic culture, listed below: Schizophrenia a. Hysteria b. Bipolar Affective Disorder c. Brief Psychotic Disorders d. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder e. Acute Psychosis f. Para-suicide g. Hysteria (Development and Change) h. Anxiety i. Depression j. Panic Attacks k. Phobias3 Differences due to gender: For a very long time now scientists and psychiatrists have been looking for an answer to the question: does gender play a role in determining mental illnesses? The question has been answered but that too, to an extent because there is no causation effect that stems directly from gender, in fact there are some diseases to which men are more prone and there are some to which women are more prone and hence there is no clear cut relation of mental diseases with the gender in question. Though gender might not play a role, cultural relativism has to be applied because the Arabic society is unique in its own sense and there are certain limitations on women and they have to fit into the traditional role more often than not and this is a great challenge to the women of the Arabic society because at this point in time they are caught in a transitory period, that of playing the traditional role and also playing the untraditional role of being the bread winner. This transition period of course has its own pressures and would disturb the mental health of the women. The main factors for mental illnesses in women in the Arabic world are as listed below: a) Gender Inequality: The Arabic society is a male dominated society because the male is assigned the role of being the bread winner and hence men have a more social life and much more exposure to the outside world where as women live hermit like life’s inside their homes and do not have much exposure in professional fields or environments. This male dominance deprives the females of their self image and self concept.4 b) Social Factors: Female participation in games and other activities in the Arabic world are not very welcome, they have a very restricted social life and are expected to die serving their husband and family only. This attitude from the society also does not let parents give liberty to daughters even if they want to because they fear that society would not be very approving of what they are doing and they would be a bad influence on the society and as a result this would cause alienation from the society. This has been the main cause why Arabic women have low self esteems and a shaken self concept and this is in fact is the breeding ground for mental illnesses.5 c) Economic Inequality: The factors that have been listed above lead to this from of inequality because women do not get the proper education and exposure in a male dominated society they are not able to survive economically because of their limited knowledge in professional fields or in the field of commerce and trade and hence they tend to suffocate at the hands of men because they are dependent on them for their bread and milk. This damages the self image and confidence badly because even if a relationship is not smooth the woman is expected to make it work out because she and her children might be dependent on that man for their survival.6 d) Lack of Education: As mentioned above already the conservative Arabic society does not believe in educating women because they are not going to be of any particular use economically because as they grow up they are supposed to carry out their traditional roles. e) Domestic Violence: gender based violence in the Arabic world is very common, women are married against their wishes, are not sent to schools after a certain age and all of this leads to imbalance in the mind, this injustice done in the name of gender leads to being a breeding ground of mental illness because of frustration. Ways to Counter: There are several ways through which the Arabic women can be liberated, there should be proper education for one and all irrespective of the gender, women who have the know how and practical knowledge should be encouraged to work and trade as men do and the lines of what is traditional and what is not should be totally removed and the injustice done in the name of society and cultural norms should be removed totally. Conclusion: Various researches confirm the role of gender inequality, societal forces, economic power, literacy and beliefs in the onset and control of mental disorders among whole people and more precisely in women. Further family environment and issues like domestic violence and martial issues further strengthen the grounds for mental disorder. (Women’s Rights and Islam) Situation can only be reversed if societal forces, government and women themselves take practical role in taking charge of their own lives. Government can improve the conditions of economy by providing better life style to its people. Increasing literacy rate encouraging women’s participation in public projects are also the talks to do for government. (Social Cognitive Theory) Families and society along with cultural forces and norms of Arabian population should take a step ahead in improving the situation and brining their women up to the better level of economy and mental state. People must realize that happy women guarantee happy families. (Family, Gender) Women’s own role is well defined in their own struggle they have to take initiatives individually and should focus on step by step growth and success for them. Women, once realize their own potential will not be bound by society and mental disorders would be eliminated from their lives. (Family, Gender) REFERENCES: Al-Subaie A.S. et al. Psychiatric emergencies in a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi. Arabia. 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