4 ms·
I suspect, if this effect is real, it has more to do with social supports, the size of the social group, and maybe also metaphysical/religious beliefs and attit
by retrac 4y ago
I suspect, if this effect is real, it has more to do with social supports, the size of the social group, and maybe also metaphysical/religious beliefs and attitudes. People who have a worldview like "Demonic possession is real! And no big deal! Happpens to everyone from time to time!" skew non-urban. They may well interact, socially and emotionally speaking, with schizophrenic relatives and community members, in a better and healthier way, than we, in all our enlightenment, do. A case of minor thought disorder, for example, can probably either be aggravated or lessened based on the social response to it. The secular Westerner may not think schizophrenics are demon-possessed, but we sure tend to treat them like they are cursed.
- hindsightbias 4y agoI read an article once about treatment of schizophrenics in an African country. Basically put in a single cage but monitored and treated well. Westerners saw it as barbaric, but the local culture saw them as being possessed in a good or bad way and most recovered in a month and there was a ceremony to welcome them back from their journey. No negative societal MH stigma attached to it. Medically, not sure about it, but culturally seems more mature than we have.