TITLE:
Cultural Influences on the Presentation of Depression
AUTHORS:
Ahmed Mohamed Abdel Shafi, Reem Mohamed Abdel Shafi
KEYWORDS:
Depression, Cultural Psychiatry, Affective Disorder
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.4 No.4,
October
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: Depression is predicted to become the second highest disease burden by 2020 as well as being a common mental health condition across the globe. Nevertheless, the presentation of depression varies depending on several factors with the patient’s cultural background playing a significant role. Although depression is such a universal condition, the manner of how a patient presents not only affects the clinician’s ability to make a diagnosis, but ultimately affects the wellbeing of the patient. It is therefore paramount that as clinicians we appreciate how culture not only affects the presentation of depression but also how cultural beliefs affect the patient’s acceptance of such a diagnosis.