CULTURAL TRANSITION AND MENTAL HEALTH

I believe that no culture is virgin; however there are regions  of the world that have much more consistent and enduring cultural values and traditions over time than others. Africa where I belong happens to be part of those regions of the world undergoing  cultural changes and transition without a certain destination in mind. I do not know  what the anthropologists  will call it; but certainly our culture is  evolving and has not reached a stable phase. In recent years, the concept of culture- bound syndromes has been the focus of a debate between the  universalists, who interprete these conditions as cultural  elaborations of universal neuropsychological  phenomena; and the  cultural relativists who see them as generated by, and expressive  of distinctive  features of a particular culture. Contemporary psychiatry however  avoids adopting  either of those ideologically influenced paradigms. It describes representative examples of culturally- related syndromes  as aggregates of symptoms  and behavioural disturbances  that can be plausibly related to cultural emphasis  and associated   stressful situations that are typical  of particular populations. This actually furnishes the intellectual template for this discourse. The precolonial  african culture was raped and infiltrated by colonialism. The colonial masters in their  bid to take over our land,understudied our culture  and introduced the indirect rule that initially made some  traditional rulers their agents  to gain  access into  our lives and cultural values. Their ultimate strategy was to nurture  a rival elite class that would replace  the traditional elite ruling class since they could read, write, speak english language and invariably live by a hybrid  western -african cultural values.These native Nigerian colonial masters lived  in GRAs manned  with dogs and  gate men thereby  preventing easy access to them as opposed to  the pre-colonial architectural designs that facilitated  unhindered social intercourse. The culture- change definitely has very grave impact on the mental health of the people. Brain fag syndrome has been recognised in many  african students at home and abroad and also  who are exposed to the aculturative stress of a western type education system emphasising theoretical book knowledge quite different from the practical know how acquired through  oral traditions by older generations in africa.Nevertheless, these  african parents expect their childern to achieve  socio- economic success in modern society associated with intense  emotional pressure thereby presenting with  crawling senstions  in the head and the body,  aches,eye trouble  especially blurred  vision and tears when reading, impaired concentration and difficulty in comprehending. Another example is the bouffee deliriante which is usually sudden ,self limiiting  and  usually as a form of reactions embedded in anxieties over sorcery and witchcraft that  increase under rapid sociocultural changes.Usually characterized by varied and uncharacteristic delusions;seeing and hearing things that others cannot perceive in clear consciousness;often demonstrative and sometimes dangerous acting out behaviour.The prominent sociocultural factors underlyingthe incidence of this disorder is the acculturative stress affecting many persons in many parts of contemporary Africa who have become marginalized in society through rapid culture change as  traditional communalistic society is disintegrating and the supportive kin network is breaking down.The individual experiences an increasing economic rivalry and social isolation that intensifies the old fears of witchcraft and sorcery,never obliterated by the western religous approaches  while the traditional protective and remedial resources are no longer readily available.These 2 examples clearly ilustrate the posible effect of  cultural transition on the mental health of an average Nigerian akin to  neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism as a consequence of globalization of values.We are no longer truly africans in our cultural orientation and essentially not  western.This obviously has very grave psychological  implications for our marriage,family-life,community-life,financial ,political,religious  and professional endeavors.The western media through music and video augmented by our own  Nollywood have produced a new generation  with profound  cognitive dissonance. Their values about marriage for instance may be  generally unrealistic  which may explain increasing rates of divorce,separation or  associated mental health issues. Social habits of the emerging generation in this cultural transition  invariably are  factors of predisposition for substance abuse and addiction,sexual disorders and other bahavioral disorders.Religious practices in this setting  may actually be a major precursor of mental disorders  when religious leaders place unrealistic demands for material prosperity on their adherents without a corressponding productive basis. Our fully westernized educational philosophy  may be responsible for increase in the level of unemployment amidst abundance of natural resources.The African  leadership crisis may be a product of the coexistence  of  2 strong opposing  ideologies in the mind of our ruling elite class namely;the rulership, exclusive african cultural software  and the egalitarian, democractic  western values  which  has produced a leadership without an identity  invariably floundering   in self preservation  by looting public funds and producing a sococultural mileu suitable for developing mental illness. Leadership in all facets of our lives must engage our values in this transition and entrench those that will encourage sound mental health.