Illness and Health

Illness, just like health, is conceptually strongly influenced by cultural beliefs and values. The way diseases are included in international diagnostic systems based on certain criteria is determined by culturally derived rules of the actors in the health systems. In addition to the medical-organic symptoms, the subjective consciousness of what is considered healthy and sick plays a significant role. The importance of experience and behavior regarding illness and health is shaped by cultural representations that are conveyed in the cultural community through socialization experiences. Illness and health are thus sociocultural constructs. Examples of culture-specific disorders such as the ‘Arctic Hysteria’ (pibloktoq) of the Inuit and social anxiety (taijin kyofusho) in Japan illustrate the problematic influence of Western illness concepts on indigenous response forms through new challenging stress conditions.