Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the Western Mind

Very much enjoyed this book, I actually couldn’t put it down. I learned a huge amount from it which will help with the decisions I take regarding my own families mental health. These are very important arguments without this book. Highly recommend.

Des idées qu'il vaut le coup de découvrir. A l'heure où la psychologie se met à l'ethnologie, c'est un livre utile pour les non-spécialistes. Ces idées font relativiser les notions de normalité et de maladie mentale.

「日本のうつ」の項目を読んで目からうろこが落ちた！ まさに衝撃的！ その後、この視点を取り入れて日本の精神医学や精神科医療を観るようになったら、まさに正論、どころかさらにエスカレートして、ＤＳＭ５や医学論文はインチキ、ねつ造が当たり前、意図的に「患者」を増やしてカネもうけだけが目的の商業主義がはびこって堕落も極限に達している。（とくにＫ大系・・） 開業医のなかには「反ＤＳＭ」の良心的な精神科医もわずかながらに存在するが大学関係者や若手の精神科医は全滅状態だ。邦訳が正確かそうか確認のために本書を購入したが問題なし。著者や邦訳者、出版社の「勇気」に最大限の賛辞を贈りたい。

To avoid misunderstandings: This book does not argue that madness is a complete cultural construction, but claims that there are specifics which are cultural, and which are in the process of getting lost due to the universalization of the Western model of mental illness. So its message is not to replace modern medical science with cultural relativism, even though Watters is clearly sceptical about antidepressants (which he claims are a bit, but not much better than Placebos in many cases).The author tries to tell the whole story, with all its, sometimes hilarious, aspects (I sometimes had to laugh at how different groups of PTSD experts competed in taking care of Tsunami victims, ignoring cultural differences and the most urgent needs of Sri Lanka's population, like water supply, instead focusing on the supposed trauma of these people).In the end, Watters is as sceptical about transferring knowledge from other cultures to ours for treating mental illness as he is of imposing the West's biomedical solutions on everyone else. In the chapter about schizophrenia in Tansania, we even learn of a failed try to use the laissez-faire-approach of Tanzanians concerning schizophrenic family members in the US.Higly recommended reading!

Great read for mental health interest