Posted on 06/27/2005 7:32:08 PM PDT by neverdem
RAIPUR RANI, India -- Second of three articles
Psychiatrist Naren Wig crossed an open sewer, skirted a pond and, in the dusty haze of afternoon, saw something miraculous.
Krishna Devi, a woman he had treated years ago for schizophrenia, sat in a courtyard surrounded by religious pictures, exposed brick walls and drying laundry. Devi had stopped taking medication long ago, but her articulate speech and easy smile were eloquent testimony that she had recovered from the debilitating disease.
Few schizophrenia patients in the United States are so lucky, even after years of treatment. But Devi had hidden assets: a doting family and an embracing village that never excluded her from social events, family obligations and work.
Devi is a living reminder of a remarkable three-decade-long study by the World Health Organization -- one that many Western doctors initially refused to believe: People with schizophrenia, a deadly illness characterized by hallucinations, disorganized thinking and social withdrawal, typically do far better in poorer nations such as India, Nigeria and Colombia than in Denmark, England and the United States.
The astounding result calls into question one of the central tenets of modern psychiatry: that a "brain disease" such as schizophrenia is best treated by hospitals, drugs and biomedical interventions.
European and U.S. psychiatrists were so shocked by the initial findings in the 1970s that they assumed something was wrong with the study. They repeated it. The second trial produced the same result. The best explanation, researchers concluded, is that the stronger family ties in poorer countries have a profound impact on recovery.
"If you have a cardiovascular problem, I would prefer to be a citizen in Los Angeles than in India," said Benedetto Saraceno, director of the department of mental health and substance abuse at WHO's headquarters in Geneva. "If I had cancer...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I am NOT a schizophrenic... and neither am I !
That was an extremely interesting article. Thanks for posting it. I wonder if similar results are seen for other mental illnesses, like manic/depression.
I may be scizophrenic, but at least I have each other.
There you go, Tom Cruise is right.
I have suffered off and on from depression for a number of years and have come to the conclusion that one of the best ways to fight it is through social connections.
Exercise, or physical labor helps too - something more common in poor societies - I have sometimes thanked God for a dirty diaper or a big mess to clean up - nothing like it for coming out of a self-centered funk.
There is also the spiritual front.
Old-fashioned society with its connections and relatives and people who live in the same town all their lives has a lot to be said for it.
Mrs VS
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
A Military Hospital May Itself Become a Casualty (Walter Reed)
The atypicals have nasty side effects. At this point it seems that it is six of one and a half dozen of the other between the traditionals and the atypicals.
Both are severely debilitating it their own ways.
It is easier to integrate a mentally ill person into a less complex society IMHO.
Not quite, not when they are psychotic, having delusions and hallucinations, then they definitely need their meds.
I should have used a "sarcasm" label!
"It is easier to integrate a mentally ill person into a less complex society IMHO."
That makes a lot of sense also, although that aspect was not discussed in this article. I've lived in the modern world my whole life, I grew up in Manhattan, but the past few years, with all the machines, esp. all the annoying noises they make, sometimes you do feel you could go nuts. The cell phones and people's complete lack of any sense of privacy when using them is just about the last straw.
I remember reading this when researching John Nash, who contrary to the movie statement, does not take medicine. It seems people tend to recover from schizophrenia to some extent when they are not medicated for it.
Extremely interesting. Thanks for the ping.
That makes a lot of sense also, although that aspect was not discussed in this article. I've lived in the modern world my whole life, I grew up in Manhattan, but the past few years, with all the machines, esp. all the annoying noises they make, sometimes you do feel you could go nuts. The cell phones and people's complete lack of any sense of privacy when using them is just about the last straw.
There is another aspect also. In Western cultures we expect better behavior of people. Wife beating is frowned upon.... and thus integrating a violent schizophrenic would not be tolerated. In abusive societies abuse is tolerated and normalized.
Its easier to interegrate ANYONE into a less demanding society.
LOL
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