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bootman's review
5.0
As someone who reads a ton of psychology books and books about mental health, I have no clue how I never came across this book. This book is so important, and Ethan Watters did a phenomenal job. Watters highlights the fact that not only do we tend to pathologize everything in the United States, but we completely neglect that different countries and cultures address mental health in a different way. I used to think we don’t talk about mental health enough, but now it feels like we talk about it too much, and every person is being diagnosed with a different illness. While disorders are very real, this book really shows that sometimes we’re sold on the idea that we’re “supposed” to have certain symptoms after different events or “should” be a certain way.
I don’t know what it’s going to take to get this book out to more people, but I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who cares about the conversations around mental health.
I don’t know what it’s going to take to get this book out to more people, but I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who cares about the conversations around mental health.
ari__s's review
4.0
I struggled with the lack of person-first language in this book; however, overall, it raises important points and may arguably be a text from which required readings should be assigned to all mental health-services students.
niniane's review
3.0
i read 50 pages about the spread of anorexia and then found it too depressing. It is well-written but quite a downer, not inspirational or a call to action. i felt helpless to help.
gimchi's review
4.0
Fascinating book on how the way in which Americans internalize their thoughts and mental illnesses affects other countries (and not necessarily in a positive manner). It definitely made me look at our culture of individualism in new ways, even on a personal level.
Overall, the book isn't surprising, as I feel that the American culture seems to steamroller others (whether on purpose or by accident) and by the end, it just gets a little depressing. The book seems to say, 'Look at all the terrible things our culture is doing to change and homogenize the world', but at the same time it also seems to say that there's not much we can do about it, other than make ourselves aware of what's going on.
Overall, the book isn't surprising, as I feel that the American culture seems to steamroller others (whether on purpose or by accident) and by the end, it just gets a little depressing. The book seems to say, 'Look at all the terrible things our culture is doing to change and homogenize the world', but at the same time it also seems to say that there's not much we can do about it, other than make ourselves aware of what's going on.
ameliabedeliaful's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
anna_lezdkan's review against another edition
Too psychological not enough philosophical but it is a psychology book.
doctabird's review
3.0
There were parts of this book that were great, and parts that were simply infuriating. I think each of the chapters could have been fully flushed out into its own book, and would have been a more comprehensive story of inter- & intracultural influences on mental illness. By the end of each chapter, I felt like I was given a one-sided view of this narrative. I won't disagree that the western idea of defining, diagnosing, and treating mental illness has, often blindly, impacted how other cultures perceive mental illness. Watters gives compelling examples of how this has occurred using different disorders and different cultures. He also excessively bashes how the west (mainly the U.S.) handles mental illness, which was the infuriating part. It would have made a more interesting story to delve into A) instances where western treatment of mental illness translated well within another culture and B) instances where another culture's ideals surrounding mental illness pervaded and influenced western views. I'm sure those instances exist, and it would have made a more well-rounded picture of the inter- & intracultural influences on mental illness (or globalization of the American psyche).