finluithiel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
finluithiel) wrote2008-08-10 09:50 am
finluithiel) wrote2008-08-10 09:50 am
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totally random, but...
I was searching for something on the PsyArticles database with the keyword 'clothing', but for some strange reason, a clinical case study of a schizophrenic Filipino man who emigrated to the US came up. I read the article, and there is no mention of the word 'clothing' which weirded me out because why did it come up in the search results?
Anyway, while I was reading the case study, the following passage struck me:
Regardless of my teacher's explanation, I think that it's because people who see or hear spirits are taken matter-of-factly here. They aren't seen as mentally ill people, they're just normal human beings who only happen to see or hear things not everyone can. The fact that these people can communicate with spirits or what-have-you doesn't necessarily mean that they're psychotic since they can still function normally in everyday situations. So schizophrenics who have full-blown hallucinations are merely seen as people who have the same 'gift' for seeing the supernatural as other 'normal' people; they merely possess this 'gift' to a greater degree. Hence the lack of distress.
I could go on and on about this topic but I have other things to do. Gah. Why couldn't I write a paper on something similar to this and not our lab report for our experiment on how clothing affects the perception of the person wearing it? Ang gasgas na ng topic na 'yon!
1Hwang, W., Miranda, J., & Chung, C. (2007, June). Psychosis and shamanism in a Filipino-American immigrant. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 31(2), 251-269.
Anyway, while I was reading the case study, the following passage struck me:
Mr. A's visual and auditory experiences could be seen as fulfilling a role similar to that of the imaginary play figures that children often create for companionship during their earlier years. These figures, along with his shamanic calling, were interpreted to be culturally normative by the patient, and could be interpreted as such given the shamanic and animistic traditions evident in Filipino culture. In contrast, his symptoms were atypical of those associated with schizophrenia in the United States, which are typically stressful and upsetting1 (emphasis mine).It reminded me of something my teacher for one of my previous psych classes said: schizophrenics here in the Philippines are usually less distressed than their American counterparts. I don't remember what was said that explained exactly why that is so, but what I do remember is that I felt dissatisfied with the answer.
Regardless of my teacher's explanation, I think that it's because people who see or hear spirits are taken matter-of-factly here. They aren't seen as mentally ill people, they're just normal human beings who only happen to see or hear things not everyone can. The fact that these people can communicate with spirits or what-have-you doesn't necessarily mean that they're psychotic since they can still function normally in everyday situations. So schizophrenics who have full-blown hallucinations are merely seen as people who have the same 'gift' for seeing the supernatural as other 'normal' people; they merely possess this 'gift' to a greater degree. Hence the lack of distress.
I could go on and on about this topic but I have other things to do. Gah. Why couldn't I write a paper on something similar to this and not our lab report for our experiment on how clothing affects the perception of the person wearing it? Ang gasgas na ng topic na 'yon!
1Hwang, W., Miranda, J., & Chung, C. (2007, June). Psychosis and shamanism in a Filipino-American immigrant. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 31(2), 251-269.