ROdown Blog
What does politics have to do with depression? The dark side of individualism
I went along to an interesting talk last year where the topic was exactly that: how politics, specifically liberalism, the values of which are fairly dominant in our society, can impact on our emotional health.
The presenter, Dr Pam Stavropoulos PhD, author of the book ‘Living under Liberalism: the Politics of depression in Western Democracies’ spoke in detail about the way that celebrated liberal ideals such as ‘individualism’, ‘freedom’ and ‘equality’ can also have their dark side, which isn’t always good for our emotional health.
Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t saying she wasn’t a fan of liberal values – and I don’t think many of us would argue against things like freedom and equality, however, she did point out a number of things that could be seen as acting to decrease our wellbeing as a society.
The talk was quite a high level talk and I’m sure a lot of you politics and philosophy students out there could run circles around some of us with this discussion – it’s a fascinating one – but I’ll just mention a couple of points that I thought were interesting and relevant to us:
- Liberalism emphasises the individual, yet we know that things like social connectedness, which must involve more than one person, are great for our wellbeing.
Is it possible that depression might be less of a problem in countries where there is more emphasis on the group /family as opposed to the individual? (Dr Stavropoulos admitted that she’d worked with clients who had grown up in societies where they were too intertwined with the family, and that this too could be problematic – so it’s not a simple clear cut answer).
This would seem to be confirmed by a recent study conducted by researchers at Northwestern University, where it was found that in collectivistic nations, such as those in East Asia, where nearly 80 percent of the population is genetically susceptible to depression, the actual prevalence of depression is significantly lower than in individualistic nations, such as the United States and Western Europe.
Should we be paying more attention to the role culture might play in both mitigating and causing mood disorders, such as depression?
- Doctors treat depression at an individual level, with medication and talk therapies, yet they often don’t take the whole picture into account, including the way their client fits into society (the good ones do, but anecdotally too many seem not to).
Should treatment plans include necessarily ‘society/ community integration plans' or something similar?
What do you think? Food for thought :)
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8 Comments
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Snuffle nose
12 months ago
Reply ReportExcuse my bluntness......But I reckon if politics in the worldwide use was not invented the world be a friendly place......
My judgment is:"take it with a grain of salt....."
Snickers82
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportShould treatment plans include necessarily ‘society/ community integration plans' or something similar?
Yes!!! Communtiy intergration plans or something similar would be a positive start! More awarness is needed. Society today can be judgemental!!
Ianb
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportI can definitely see that emphasis on individualistic values can come at the expense of the tight bonds of families, cliques, and even neighbourhoods. And less social connectedness does reduce the number of people there for you to express yourself, communicate your feelings, and receive support.
One intersting thing this applies to is funerals and the grieving process-- where tight family bonds and close support from friends and family can be crucial. Some cultures have very somber, quiet and very uncommunicative funeral practices which I think-- at the minimum-- can stifle one's emotional expression-- and at the extreme cause people to try and suppress their emotions.
The last funeral I went to was in Ireland, and while it was a sad affair, being a funeral and all, I was so astonished by the outpouring of community and family-- there were more than 1500 people there at some time, even if just to stop by for a cup of tea and shake a hand. And the way that everyone seemed to try and grieve collectively, while still taking time alone if they needed it, was really inspiring. Of course everyone is affected differently, but I think that funeral was an example of a very socially collective practice, and an example where collectivism has a good mental health impact.
Ophelia.L
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportIndividualistic vs collectivist culture...
anna
about 2 years ago
Reply Reportthe research is more about how an individualistic versus a collectivist culture might influence depression.
ie where the group is the emphasis (versus the individual) then there seems there are protective factors present (such as social connectedness) that seem to be mitigating or lowering the prevalence of depression - at least in this research!
But as it says in the blog - it's not a black and white picture and this extra connectedness and intertwinedness can have its downsides apparently!!
Ophelia.L
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportWe should...I mean how bad can it be if people voiced their opinion?
anna
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportHey Ophelia :) Just to clarify your question - are you asking whether or not we should allow 'individualism' 'freedom' and 'equality to continue?
I think they're interesting questions and worthwhile being aware of.
I think some of the more interesting questions are around if we have a culture where the individual triumphs over the collective, and we know more collectivist nations somehow have a lower prevalence of depression, what can we do to translate that into helpful interventions or health promotion strategies here?
Social connectedness is one of Inspire's impact measures, so definitely something we've been thinking about!
Ophelia.L
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportHm - that was interesting, but I don't think she was decreasing our society or anything. In fact, I can see an opposite to this.
edited by moderator