躯体与心理疾病:躯体化问题的跨文化视角

Body and Psychological Diseases:A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Somatization

躯体化作为现代医学界一大困扰,因其缺少器质性依据而徒有症状表达而被划分心理疾病的范畴。这一划分实质上体现了西方身心二元论的影响,但这一理念并不一定适用于其他民族。世界各地不同的躯体化报告率为躯体化问题的跨文化研究提供了契机,其后隐藏的实际上是不同文化的不同身体观与疾病观以及相应治疗惯习。在一个素来提倡身心合一的文化中,躯体化更应被视为一种普遍的求诊动机与主诉方式,而不是难以理解的心理障碍。

Somatization has long been a baffling issue in modem medicine. It is currently listed as a specific psychological disease due to a lack of pathological evidence. However, this classification embodies the dichotomy of body and mind in the western culture which may be not applicable to other cultures. The different somatization frequencies reported from diverse cultures indicate the existence of such an underlying presumption that different cultures hold distinct body views and definitions of diseases, which mean different medical treatments. In a society that has a long tradition to strengthen the dynamic interrelationship between body and mind, somatization should be acknowledged as a natural way of symptom expression and serves as a legitimate basis for medical help rather than a perplexing psychological disorder.