| I would like to explore my understanding of how we | | | | emotions about something or in some situations). So |
| Iranians deal with mental health issues as a multicultural | | | | having delshoreh means that your stomach is being |
| group. I will not refer to the multicultural groups as a | | | | attacked by a feeling that almost washes your calm |
| group for itself, as it is not fair to the diversity in each | | | | away. |
| group alone. To be specific I like to examine our Iranian | | | | During those moments of feeling the pain of anxiety or |
| culture as a group while this group is divided to an | | | | delshoreh, person does not have any sense of what is |
| unknown subgroups and subcategories. To make the | | | | going on. In Persian we say: I am having delshoreh, |
| story short, it is significant for each culture to examine | | | | meaning I am suffering from something vague. This is |
| their own believes in order to widen the knowledge | | | | the similar explanation in English, having anxiety is due |
| about people with mental health issues. | | | | to a fuzzy feeling about something that is not right. |
| I believe that this is a lengthy debate, why I will raise | | | | Delshoreh is culturally known as a sign for something |
| my voice in the capacity of my experiences as a | | | | bad happening, a blurred idea of a threat to one's |
| counselor, social worker, and mental health worker. | | | | integrity. This feeling might get confused with the |
| We should recognize that the mainstream psychology | | | | burden of shame and guilt. As we Iranian have never |
| works best for the mainstream society, why a | | | | been encouraged to understand our own feelings, we |
| multicultural psychology would help many aspects of | | | | mix and mingle feelings because we are used to |
| mental health for people who for any reasons fall | | | | internalize oppression forced upon us. At this personal |
| aside from this mainstream. In my profession I see | | | | level we start blaming ourselves for having done |
| men and women, who are distressed, show | | | | something wrong, for being bad or sinning, or not doing |
| symptoms of anxiety and depression, however, they | | | | good deeds. The bodily response to this deep level of |
| have hard time to ask for proper help or attend any | | | | pain causing by Delshoreh is usually not explained in |
| psychotherapy at all. | | | | words. What do I mean by this vague definition of a |
| It is beneficial for therapists, psychologists and mental | | | | vague feeling? It is our cultural understanding that |
| health workers out there to examine the ways in | | | | delshoreh is the same as fear, while psychology says |
| which each multicultural group refer to bodily / mentally | | | | something else. |
| related issues. Ideally, it would be useful to understand | | | | Anxiety and fear are two constant problems in huge |
| the language of clients, as the words reveal a lot about | | | | number of mental health issues everywhere and also |
| the life of each client. | | | | in our Iranian culture. There is of course no research |
| This writing is a basic attempt to evaluate the need for | | | | supporting about the reasons for anxiety in various |
| culturally based psychological evaluations of our Iranian | | | | populations, however, we all have experienced horrible |
| group as we have different understanding of mental | | | | situations that are indeed anxiety provoking itself. |
| health issues compare to the Western population. | | | | For all the level of insecurity that we Iranian face |
| Again the point is not to universalize our Iranian group | | | | everyday in our lives having delshoreh or fear is a |
| as we (Iranian) come from a multilayered communities | | | | comprehensible response to our hard reality. This is a |
| and cultural background. Neither the point is to picture | | | | normal response to what is not normal undeniably. |
| us Iranian as isolated groups of people who hide behind | | | | It is significant to identify how to deal with our feelings |
| the dark. | | | | as they are always with us. Anxiety is an alerting |
| The point is to open up a discussion to see how we | | | | signal; it warns us of impending danger and enables a |
| can help more families and individuals who are | | | | person to take measures to deal with a threat. |
| suffering from mental health issues. | | | | However the definition of anxiety for people who are |
| The point is that we Iranian, in general we have hard | | | | living in constant terror may or may not be an altering |
| time to recognize mental health as an issue. We tend | | | | signal. In horrible life circumstances that many people |
| to somaticize, meaning we define any illness related to | | | | struggle with in Iran and Middle East, all those warning |
| our physical body. | | | | signals something get confused with many physical |
| I question whether a western culture therapist would | | | | conditions. |
| be able to work with the diverse group people as | | | | Sometimes those external circumstances create |
| Iranian is. We should remember that no counselor | | | | reason for having anxiety and fear. What are those |
| comes from a social vacuum and everything that | | | | circumstances? |
| therapist and psychologist say is culturally related. How | | | | Any time we have endured the pain of having been |
| would this aspect be helpful or harmful to our people? | | | | forced to live a certain lifestyle; we know that anxiety |
| In Adlerian terms, a mental health issue is all related to | | | | has been there to tell us what we do not like. |
| one aspect; loss of hope and loss of encouragement | | | | All those years when bombs were falling on our |
| in life (Adler, 1957). Our life in migration is hard enough, | | | | people's head, we were dealing with the anxiety and |
| not adding the reality of our families being spread | | | | fear of not knowing what would happen to us next |
| between many countries and we being distressed | | | | hour. |
| about adjustments. We long for the real notion of | | | | All those people whose children, whose family |
| family we once knew. | | | | members were killed, disappeared, tortured, left to exile, |
| Let's focus on a general issue we all deal with at | | | | and are victimized one way or another, they know |
| times. Remember when we say: delam shor mizaneh! | | | | how painful and devastating anxiety is. |
| It would be helpful to dig into this notion and to extract | | | | Many of our Iranian citizens have been victimized one |
| the cultural meanings behind this word. We all have | | | | way or another due to the level of unstable situation |
| heard stories about how our Iranian men and women | | | | back home. |
| go to doctors complaining about "the pain in the chest" | | | | We have all experienced the severe pain of anxiety |
| or the "bad feeling in the stomach." | | | | as an alerting signal that something is going to happen |
| Sometimes it is hard for many of us to exactly say | | | | or is happening right now. |
| what we want to say. with all the belief and trust we | | | | The anxiety of having lost a loved one or not being |
| Iranian have to the medical world, we ask for drugs | | | | able to return to homeland could be devastating and it |
| and try to "cure" our issues even though they are | | | | has been for many of our fellow Iranians. |
| mental health related. | | | | What is the definition of Anxiety and Fear? |
| If our family doctors happen to recommend that we | | | | Fear is a response to a known, external, definite, and |
| see a psychologist, we go back home and say that | | | | real threat, while anxiety is a response to an unknown, |
| doctor was not good. | | | | internal, vague, and a conflictual threat. |
| Sometimes our younger generations they seek | | | | So, we may have anxiety for our child leaving home to |
| psychiatrists and psychologists because they have | | | | go out with his/her friends, yet we may be fearful of |
| communication problems at home with their parents. | | | | thief or snake. |
| Some suffer from parents who will control their life | | | | The feeling of anxiety is unknown; when our child is |
| forever. Some women suffering from abusive | | | | leaving that door gives us other signals. We all have |
| husband or other domestic issues, they go to doctors | | | | feelings, we feel because we are human, and we act |
| asking for medications. The examples are numerous. | | | | upon our feelings as we find them directive. |
| The main point is we do not know how to deal with | | | | We fear about the possible dangers out there, yet we |
| mental health issues and we will not recognize having | | | | can never know for sure what can happen in our |
| any mental health issues. Any bad feelings, any harsh | | | | future. |
| thoughts, or any compulsive behaviour we have could | | | | If that is the case we could do some anxiety reducing |
| be mental health related. Now let see how we define | | | | response to help the situation. However, we need to |
| one little aspect of mental health issues: Anxiety. | | | | know how to cope and how to manage our life |
| Anxiety or Delshoreh | | | | situations in order to deal with anxiety and fear. |
| What is anxiety or delshoreh in our Iranian culture? | | | | Without a doubt emotion, thoughts, and behaviours go |
| The word delshoreh in Persian has an appealing | | | | hand in hand.now the question is how did we deal with |
| meaning in itself; the word explains what is happening | | | | anxiety or delshoreh before? Remember our mothers |
| when you have delshoreh. | | | | would say: "give the person some salt, if he/she was |
| Simply your Del or stomach is being excited, upset, or | | | | scared or shocked"! |
| stimulated (the verb Shoridan means having too much | | | | |