Depression As A Common Mental Health Condition

Depression is a common mental health condition, but in a few cases, it can be debilitating. This issue prevents an individual from performing their everyday tasks like sleeping, working, or sleeping. People suffering from depression may feel crippling at times, but it is also used in an insulting or harmful way to refer to someone with physical disabilities (LeMoult & Gotlib, 2019). According to argument of Beck, depression is instituted by one’s view about themselves. He made the assumption that negative thought content characterizes depression and that if an individual set a self-focused goal for themselves, they could think rationally about their situation (Jackson-Koku, 2016).

Depression is considered degrading in various cultures. Patients might not seek help from health professionals and choose alternative methods like religious figures first (LeMoult & Gotlib, 2019).  In Arab culture, people believe that mental illness occurs due to black magic, punishment by God, or due to some evil spirits (Merhej, 2019). As a result, they do not rely on health professionals for treatment. However, in Arab culture, a patient’s resistance to reporting depression is linked with a fear of embarrassing their family (Zolezzi et al., 2018). Mental health stigma thus exacerbates mental illness and affects people who are already vulnerable.

In this paper, we will talk about culturally sensitive interventions and the role of psychoeducation in reducing patients’ pain and suffering. The paper focuses on depression and the treatment options available to help combat the problem and reduce mental health stigmas.  Role Of Culturally Sensitive Interventions In Combating Mental Health Stigma Essay

Depression and its Factors

Depression affects the mental health of an individual, causing an intense feeling of sadness without any reason. The three core features linked with this mental illness are excessive sadness, anergia, and anhedonia, and they need to be present for at least 2 weeks in order to diagnose an individual with depression (Park & Zarate, 2019).  The exact cause of depression is not known, but multiple theories have been proposed, like monoamine theory, which hypothesizes that the cause of depression is because of a reduction in noradrenaline, serotonin, or dopamine, explaining the reason of antidepressants being generally prescribed as a treatment which helps increase these neurotransmitter levels. Other causes include inherited trials, biological differences, etc. (Park & Zarate, 2019).

The risk factors for depression include the female gender. Studies have shown that the depression rate is high among women, and postpartum depression is the most prevalent among women (Pao et al., 2019). Other risk factors include chronic illness, substance abuse, traumatic events, medication like sleeping pills, a family history, etc. The symptoms associated with depression include difficulty in performing work, maintaining personal hygiene, suicidal thoughts, intense feelings of frustration and sadness, mood swings and temperament, lack of interest, lack of concentration, headaches, loss of weight, loss of appetite, etc. (Park & Zarate, 2019).  However, the presentation of depression varies with the cultural background of an individual. In a few cultures, visiting the doctor is culturally unacceptable, resulting in the presentation of somatic symptoms that are a cited feature of depression. This, therefore, determines whether or not depression has been expressed in physical terms.

Dealing With Depression In Various Cultures

Mental Illness Stigma

Stigma is a barrier for depression treatment and it worsens as a result of a lack of awareness as well as understanding of the mental illness. Efforts have been made in the past for combating the stigma linked with depression. In Arab cultures, the role of stigma as well as depression is noted as an unwillingness of a patient to report depression with the fear of embarrassment (Merhej, 2019). According to studies, society looks at an individual who is visiting a psychiatric clinic as if they are mad. According to the view of society, mental illness is a label of social disgrace where the behaviour of a person embarrasses their friends and society (Merhej, 2019). This can result in a fear of being brushed aside, causing the patients to make attempts to hide their true feelings as they lack the confidence to share their burden with someone. The consequence of this is that treatment is not taken till the patient finds himself in a desperate situation or when the majority of their lives are affected (for example, employment and relationships) (Shafi & Shafi, 2014).  Stigma exacerbates a mental illness that already has a negative impact on vulnerable individuals and their families (Merhej, 2019).

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Culturally Sensitive Therapy

This therapy emphasizes on understanding of the patient’s background, beliefs, and ethnicity. The idea behind this therapy is that cultural beliefs can lead to exacerbation of mental illness and the presentation of depression varies with the cultural background of an individual (Shafi & Shafi, 2014). Thus, understanding the cultural beliefs can help in reducing the mental health stigma and in the future, help the patient to discuss their feelings and experiences with the therapist in order to propose an individual-centred care plan (Rathod et al., 2018). Cultural sensitivity can be incorporated by therapist into their work by respecting and accommodating differences in opinions, attitudes, and values of different cultures. Being culturally sensitive will allow the therapist to maintain cultural competence. Understanding one’s culture and the way it influences their relationship with the patient is important and then responds to and understand the culture that is different from theirs (Rathod et al., 2018).

Culturally sensitive practices can be applied to any therapy and thus generates comfort for the patient (Rathod et al., 2018). Research has contributed in documenting the positive effects of applying culturally sensitive practices and the way therapists can be culturally competent. Studies have shown that therapy with Latino clients was not as effective when the therapist was misunderstood as distant (Rathod et al., 2018). The use of familiar language and displaying general personable trait can contribute to better interaction with the patient, and avoiding them can alienate patients. Openly showing respect for beliefs and culture can be an effective treatment, and hence a positive outcome can be achieved for both patient and therapist (Rathod et al., 2018).

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective approach for reducing negative thoughts and changing the patient’s thoughts. Combining cognitive behavioural therapy with culturally sensitive therapy, on the other hand, may be a more effective approach to generating positive therapy and minimizing the effects of depression (Kazantzis et al., 2018). Cultures like the Arab cultures view mental illness patients as people who are crazy, incompetent, dangerous, etc., and most of them prefer treatments that are linked to their cultures. For some traditional healers, prayers, reciting Qurans, etc., are more reliable in comparison to other interventions. Thus, a nurse can involve spiritual intervention while providing psychotherapy to the patient in order to generate trust and willingness to proceed with the treatment (Luong, Drummond & Norton, 2020; Shafi & Shafi, 2014).  Receiving prayers from the nurse can help to reduce the pain and suffering of the patient, further generating a sense of positivity. Meeting the spiritual needs of the patient can contribute to the overall health of the patient. Including religious as well as spiritual resources can help in coping, generating comfort, and finding meaning in their experiences (Currier et al., 2019). Studies indicate that Arabs believe that God is a central source of power who supports them in generating inner strength, so the recitation of the Quran can be an effective approach (Shafi & Shafi, 2014).

Understanding Depression And Its Causes

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation includes offering education to an individual who is suffering from psychological distress. This intervention can include the delivery of passive materials like information websites, emails, single leaflets, etc., or it can also involve multi-session group interventions with therapist guidance and exercises (Jones et al., 2018). The goal is to empower the patient to tackle their negative thoughts (Jones et al., 2018).Medication adherence is critical for treating severe depression, so the patient must understand the importance of medication as well as its effectiveness in alleviating their symptoms. Thus, psychoeducation benefits patients and their loved ones by providing information and support for a better understanding and coping with illness (Rigabert et al., 2020).

The strategy includes an efficient crisis management plan in order to prevent suicide and the identification of depressive thoughts as postpsychotic depression. Quick administration of pre-prescribed medication after identifying the early warning signs can result in the progression of mental illness. Furthermore, during the session, the patients are equipped with the crisis telephone number for crisis management (Jones et al., 2018).Double-entry book keeps the patient involved so that they can engage in a therapeutic relationship with the health professional. Educating the patient about the relationships among emotions, behaviour, and thoughts helps explain the benefits of this approach for mental health (Jones et al., 2018). Core beliefs are generally examined in the process that leads to faulty thinking or distorted cognitive function, contributing to depression (LeMoult & Gotlib, 2019). During the group sessions, the patient can identify the source of stress, and for that, a coping with stress worksheet can be useful, where the patients can learn to cope with mental issues or tackle the problems of life (Jones et al., 2018). Then, they can use the assertiveness formula worksheet to teach group members how to speak up assertively in difficult situations (Mottaghipour & Tabatabaee, 2019).  Learning assertive skills can help to manage stress resulting from bullying and discrimination. The use of Socratic questioning, developing problem-solving skills, improving communication, etc. can be used to guide the components of psychology (Jones et al., 2018).

Conclusion

Depression affects the quality of life by generating lack of energy, sadness, loss of interest, loss of focus, etc. There are various cultural beliefs linked with mental illness that lead to the progression of mental illness. In Arab culture, a person with mental illness is considered crazy, incompetent, dangerous, etc. The stigma of depression, generates unwillingness of a patient to report depression with the fear of embarrassment. Society looks at an individual who is visiting a psychiatric clinic as if they are mad. Including religious as well as spiritual resources can help in coping, generating comfort, and finding meaning in their experiences. For Arab culture, the recitation of the Quran can be an effective approach.

Psychoeducation includes educating the family and the patient about the importance of medication adherence, complications associated with mental illness, and the identification of alarming signs that lead to deterioration and progression of depression. Cognitive-behavioural therapy and meditation can also help in developing coping skills and strengthening the mind. Apart from this, it is important to provide enough care and support to the patient and help them to reduce their burden of thought. All these can help in improving the overall health of the patient and their family and improving their quality of life.

References

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