The Chaos of Mental Health and Collectivist Cultures

(What impacts does collectivism have on mental health?)

By: Trisha Patel

 

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Culture is something that can play a big role in someone’s life, upbringing, and even their mental health. There are many different cultures around the world. In individualistic cultures, people are usually more concerned with themselves and their closer family while collectivist cultures put emphasis on larger groups and care for everyone. With collectivist cultures, there are different instances which can contribute to good or bad outcomes regarding mental health. 

 

Mental health plays a crucial part in many people’s day to day lives and collectivism is something that can have an impact on it. A collectivist culture has positive impacts on the mental health of an individual. Being in a group setting allows people to have a society to rely on and avoid feeling lonely. Community is something that is needed for humans to be able to thrive and have that sense of belonging and support. Having a collectivist culture where people share similar ideas, languages, traditions, or hobbies can be beneficial as it makes people seem less isolated. A Northwestern University Study had proven that a collectivistic culture had less chances of individuals being prone to depression. Depression is something that is derived from a multitude of things. This includes genes and the environment. Social harmony is very valued in a collectivist culture and people try to be cohesive. 
 

As previously mentioned, the mental health of an individual can be improved due to the support that is present in a collectivist culture. However, this doesn’t seem to always be the case and it depends on the situation that one is in. A study done by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry had gone into Indian families and the way the society impacts mental health. Indian communities are highly focused on social cohesion and collectivism. The emotional needs of family members are matched and there is a lot of support. However, family therapy is not a very efficient way of support as it does not usually take the place of professional help. Along with this, a heavily family focused community can be a cause for issues in the first place due to feeling misplaced or judged. Connecting this to sports, the use of collectivism is valuable when it comes to team building. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, using psychological collectivism has benefits when it comes to team systems because it builds cooperation and trust between members. Having this collectivist mindset is important to the overall performance of the team and it emphasizes working to achieve the goals of the team. Having psychological collectivism allows everyone’s individual selves to be embraced and feel connected as a team which makes everyone feel included and a part of the team, leading to better mental health.

     

Being a part of a collectivist culture comes with its own benefits and struggles when it comes to mental health. Having a group of people with similar things as you can be very helpful in making sure you don't feel isolated. On the other hand, having a lot of unison can make people compare themselves constantly and feel left out. In order to make sure an ideal mental state can be reached, it is important to have a balance between the time spent with others and time spent alone. 

 

Works Cited

“News.” 'Culture of We' Buffers Genetic Tendency to Depression: Northwestern University News, https://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/10/chiao.html.

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Chadda, Rakesh K, and Koushik Sinha Deb. “Indian Family Systems, Collectivistic Society and Psychotherapy.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry, Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, Jan. 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705700/.

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“The Importance of Community and Mental Health.” NAMI,

https://nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/November-2019/The-Importance-of-Community-and-Mental-Health.