GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 1

Global Issues Report:

Mental Health: Global Causes and Stigmas

Jake Kopinski

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Dr. Vierra

November 15, 2018

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Abstract

This paper contains research about mental health and mental illness and how it affects

people globally. The sources of information for this report were discovered using online

databases and books from the University of Texas El Paso library. Through interviews with the

sources, it was discovered that mental health and illness are present thought the world but are

viewed differently depending on the culture and or region of the world it is located.
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Introduction

Millions every year suffering from diagnosed and undiagnosed mental illness. These

mental illnesses can cause people to self-medicate and even in drastic situations take their own

lives. Some may ask what breeds this toxic and harmful situation? There are many factors that

will be discussed in this report, but the answer is not so cut and dry because it effects each

individual uniquely in all corners of the world. The under lying feature in all of the factors that in

turn cause mental health issues is stigma. Stigma is how something is viewed by one’s self and

the community surrounding them. There are two types of stigma: self and public, both of which

can be quite detrimental. By taking steps in improving the stigma of mental illness and mental

health globally that will in return increase awareness and care for those suffering from mental

illness.

Discussion

Mental health issues are viewed and developed in a number of different ways globally.

As stated by McKinney (1998), there are certain causes or triggers in one’s environment that lead

to the development of a disorder or illness (p.21). According to Murthy (2002), studies across the

globe present different pictures of stigma experiences in different countries and communities.

People in differing cultures face different struggles on a daily basis, therefore they will

experience different side effects to their actions (p.28). Since there are different triggers in

different communities around the world, the evidence proves that there isn’t a need for a

universal mental health care model. As long as it is effective, models should be uniquely crafted

to the stigma of the specific region or culture.

If the stigma surrounding mental health isn’t positive in a culture, it can be very

dangerous for those affected by an illness. According to Zabludovsky (2013), Mexico has
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neglected their mental health systems because of a negative stigma surrounding mental illness.

Mental illness is viewed as a hoax and money allocated for care is put towards short term fixes

instead of long term (p. 4a). Mexico is in essence putting lipstick on a pig when the decide to

update the appearance of a mental health institution instead of the infrastructure of the system as

a whole. According to Dr. Saxena (2018), without proper funding to mental health, a country

will experience costly health, social and economic issues (World Health Organization’s website).

The evidence suggests that if Mexico, or countries in similar situations, do not make a cultural

change on the stigma of mental illness the situation will only worsen and become costly for

citizens affected by mental illness and for taxpayers.

Since mental health affects the world globally. What can be said about a specific

population of the globe. Let us look at the population attending college. According to Deane,

Rickwood and Wilson (2007) based on the consensus of data collected from studies

internationally, young people are hesitant to get professional help for their mental health

concerns. They go on to declare that 27% of people aged 18-24 suffer from mental health issues

(pp.35-36). As stated by Kitzrow (2003), student affairs administrators have been dealing with a

larger number of troubled students and have seen an increase in eating disorders, drug abuse,

alcohol abuse, classroom disruption, gambling and suicide rates (p.S35). Due to the statistics

surrounding the number of students suffering from mental health issues and the increase of visits

to student affair administrations, it can be inferred that college is a stressful time in students’ life

where they are susceptible to mental health issues and many students need help dealing with

these issues. But how do college attending students differ from their non-attending peers? As

stated above college students can develop many psychiatric diseases while attending school.

Research has shown that college students and their non-college-attending counterparts actually
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suffer from mental illnesses at the same rate but are at greater risk for certain diseases. A college

student is more susceptible to alcoholism, while their peers that don’t attend college are at a

higher risk of drug and nicotine addiction (Blanco, Okuda, Wright, pp.1430-1435). With your

college aged years being some of the most important years of your life, it is vital for college

students and their peers alike to seek out help.

An interesting view of cultural differences is prevalent at the University of Texas at El

Paso. Located on the United States border across from Juárez, Mexico (view Figure 1), most

students at the University can trace their heritage back to the neighboring country. While even

some live in the nation of Mexico. Mexico is in fact visible from many areas of the University’s

campus. Since the school is in such close proximity to the nation, some cannot help but wonder

what influences these multicultural students take with them. Most importantly the stigma of

mental illness. According to Zabludovsky (2013), Mental illness and mental health are

misunderstood in Mexican culture (p.4a). So it can be said, if a student with Mexican heritage

comes across the United States- Mexico border with the same problems of being misunderstood

at home or by their family, the University offers many helpful resources in combating that

negative stigma. According to the University’s website, they offer free counselling and

psychological services to students, faculty and staff. These services are offered in both English

and Spanish due to the diverse cultural make-up of the school. Under the page listed division of

student affairs, there is a list of mental health resources for UTEP students. In this section of the

website there are links to counselling and treatment, substance abuse and other programs not

offered by the university but in the community surrounding the school. A crisis line is even

offered for urgent situations after normal operating hours. As you can see, the University’s
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stigma is quite different from Mexico’s and many resources are offered to help the stigma that

may have traveled across the border with many of their students.

While the cultural stigmas may not be too opposing in cultures bordering each other,

what is to be said for cultures separated by thousands of miles? According to Okasha (2002),

mental health issues are last on the list of priorities for most African nations. Africa is dealing

with severe poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, so their resources are allocated to different

issues instead of mental health (pp.33-34). While, as stated by Grove (1994), western European

countries mental health care systems are covered through public policy (p. 431). Depending on

the stigma surrounding mental health in a certain region, better or worse systems will be set in

place to combat it. As shown in figure 2, every country views mental illness and people with

mental illness differently. Some good stigmas and some bad. Subsequently, it can be said that

someone in a better financial situation or more understanding culture, will have better access to

mental health care and consequently better health in general. It is not that these less developed

countries don’t care about mental health but that they are more focused on other issues in their

culture that may need more attention.

Not only does one’s environment and the stigma surrounding mental illness cause

problems, but serious weather events or natural disasters can cause some severe mental health

issues too. According to Collins, Jimenez and Grineski (2013), after data was collected from a

severe flood in the Southwest United States, 18% of the community developed some mental

health issue. Most cases were minor, like slight depression or anxiety, but issues none the less

(pp.417-420). According to Kokai, Jujii, Shinfuku and Edwards (2004) out of the 3 billion

people effected by natural disaster 85% live in Asia. Asia is affected by typhons, cyclones,

earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Since Asia has these violent storms, they experience more
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severe illness in consequence, such as schizophrenia and PTSD (pp.110-113). Consequently, you

can say that mental health issues will arise after a natural disaster or severe weather storm no

matter the location or culture it affects.

Conclusion

There are a multitude of cause of mental illness and these illnesses are stigmatized

uniquely in different cultures. Since there are different variables in each culture, this proves the

fact that there is no a need for universal uniform mental health care model. The model for mental

health care in suburban America is going to be drastically different than the system in a sub-

Saharan African nation. Mental health is a dangerous global issue and needs to be treated as

such. It can be fixed one country at time and it begins with changing the stigma of mental health

and illness.
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Figures

Figure 1. A Google maps snapshot of the University of Texas at El Paso to show the
close proximity to the Mexican border.
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Figure 2. The public stigma of mental illness in a sample of 16 countries.

Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2002). Understanding the Impact of Stigma on People with
Mental Illness. World Psychiatry : Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association
(WPA), 1(1), pp.16-20.
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References

Collins, Timothy W. Jimenez, Anthony M. Grineski, Sare E. (2013). Hispanic Health Disparities

After a Flood Disaster: Results of a Population-based Survey of Individuals Experiencing

Home Site Damage in El Paso (Texas, USA). Journal of Immigration and Minority

Health, 15(2), pp.415-426. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9626-2

Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with

mental illness. World Psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association

(WPA), 1(1), pp.16-20.

Deane, F. Rickwood, D. Wilson, C. (2007). When and How Young People Seek Professional

Help for Mental Health Problems? The Medical Journal of Australia, 187(7), pp. S35-

S39.

Grove, B. (1994). Reform of Mental Health Care in Europe: Progress and Change in the Last

Decade. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165(4), 431-433. doi:10.1192/bjp.165.4.431

Kitzrow, A. (2003) The Mental Health Needs of Today's College Students: Challenges and

Recommendations, NASPA Journal, 41:1, 167-181

Kokai, M. Fujii, S. Shinfuku, N. Edwards, G. (2004). Natural Disasters and Mental Health in

Asia. Psychiatric and Clinical Neurosciences, vol. 58(2), pp. 110-116.

McKinney, W. T. (1988). Models of Mental Disorders: A New Comparative Psychiatry. Plenum

Medical Book Company: Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Murthy, R. (2002). Stigma is Universal but Experiences are Local. World Psychiatry : Official

Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 1(1), 28.

Ohkasha, A. Mental health in Africa: The Role of the WPA. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of

the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), (2002), 1(1), pp. 32-35.

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Saxena, S. (June 6, 2018). Mental health: Massive Scale-up of Resources Needed if Global

Targets are to be Met. World Health Organization.

Zabludovsky, K. (2013, October 22). Ex-Patients Police Mexico's Mental Health System. The

New York Times, p. 4A.