We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of a tragedy in our extended family. This young man, Barton Sherwood, suffered from schizophrenia. Because of this mental illness, he ended his own life. Barton was a very talented musician and received multiple awards and commendations for his accomplishments. He served a two-year mission in Argentina for the LDS church.
Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are chemical imbalances in the brain. These illnesses are often linked back to our genetics. Studies show that schizophrenia decreases more quickly in some cultures than it does in other cultures. I find this really interesting. Why is this?
Does it run more strongly in some cultures, or just the cure?
What is it for my country?
Brother John Ivers, in his lesson on culture and psychology, discusses this subject briefly. Culture and Psychology
He mentions that "Some cultures, the schizophrenic is cured more quickly than he or she is cured in other cultures, and no one knows why that is. So, obviously, there's a cultural-biological interplay with a lot of these things."
I wanted to research this a little more. I found that Schizophrenia cannot be cured, but rather the symptoms can be treated.
In his article Is the Great American Teacher Dead? Brother Ivers teaches us that
that one’s chance of becoming schizophrenic is more than
doubled if one is born and raised in a large urban center
rather than a rural area.
These are things to be aware of as we work with students from around the world, especially if we are teaching adolescent students as most people are diagnosed in their late teens to early 30's. If we as teachers, could help a student seek treatment and avoid the loss like the Sherwood family experienced in 2011, we would still have Barton with us.
Sources:
Minkel, J. R. (2009) Putting madness in its place. Scientific American, 301(5), 16-19
Is the Great American Teacher Dead? John J. Ivers
Culture and Psychology John J. Ivers
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