From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness

Buddhist-derived “mindfulness” practices are currently enjoying popularity amongst both the lay population and health professionals in the West, especially in the treatment of psychiatric conditions such as depression. This popularity leads to questions regarding how people in diverse Buddhist commu...

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Main Author: Susannah Deane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2014-05-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/5/2/444
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author Susannah Deane
author_facet Susannah Deane
author_sort Susannah Deane
collection DOAJ
description Buddhist-derived “mindfulness” practices are currently enjoying popularity amongst both the lay population and health professionals in the West, especially in the treatment of psychiatric conditions such as depression. This popularity leads to questions regarding how people in diverse Buddhist communities might conceptualise psychiatric illness and healing. This paper explores perspectives on psychiatric illness within a Tibetan Buddhist community in North India, focusing on the role of “emotions” in causation and treatment which was frequently discussed by informants. Comparisons between biomedical perspectives on emotional “disturbance” as a symptom of psychiatric illness and Tibetan conceptions of emotions as causal or contributory factors in a number of psychiatric illnesses are discussed. Three case studies are described to illustrate some of these common perspectives, examine how they are reflected in health-seeking behavior, and consider comparisons between the two systems.
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spelling doaj.art-fedbb59c106345ba9e29ae7a8e148fe52022-12-21T20:16:25ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442014-05-015244445810.3390/rel5020444rel5020444From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric IllnessSusannah Deane0School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, John Percival Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF1 3EU, UKBuddhist-derived “mindfulness” practices are currently enjoying popularity amongst both the lay population and health professionals in the West, especially in the treatment of psychiatric conditions such as depression. This popularity leads to questions regarding how people in diverse Buddhist communities might conceptualise psychiatric illness and healing. This paper explores perspectives on psychiatric illness within a Tibetan Buddhist community in North India, focusing on the role of “emotions” in causation and treatment which was frequently discussed by informants. Comparisons between biomedical perspectives on emotional “disturbance” as a symptom of psychiatric illness and Tibetan conceptions of emotions as causal or contributory factors in a number of psychiatric illnesses are discussed. Three case studies are described to illustrate some of these common perspectives, examine how they are reflected in health-seeking behavior, and consider comparisons between the two systems.http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/5/2/444TibetpsychiatrymadnessBuddhism
spellingShingle Susannah Deane
From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
Religions
Tibet
psychiatry
madness
Buddhism
title From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
title_full From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
title_fullStr From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
title_full_unstemmed From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
title_short From Sadness to Madness: Tibetan Perspectives on the Causation and Treatment of Psychiatric Illness
title_sort from sadness to madness tibetan perspectives on the causation and treatment of psychiatric illness
topic Tibet
psychiatry
madness
Buddhism
url http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/5/2/444
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