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Notes -
Does anyone have a good source for a deep dive into the dichotomy of schizophrenia between first world and third world countries? It's a commonly cited fact (myth?) that it presents differently in different cultures - i.e. in America schizophrenics often experience paranoia, violent episodes, ideations of suicide or self-harm, while in sub-Saharan Africa their symptoms manifest as religious experiences. A recent culture war thread comment suggested the possibility that genuinely violent, dangerous schizophrenics in third world countries are quietly abandoned or disposed of, but didn't cite any sources. Is this even a real phenomenon? Is there any useful research into it?
I only have limited psychiatric experience, but the handful of schizophrenics I've encountered in India had what any Western doctors would consider "Western" schizophrenia symptoms, including my friend who just tried to commit suicide that I personally diagnosed. That means the hallucinations were outright malign in nature, or certainly delusional in a negative way, as opposed to claims that they can be benign or even helpful.
For what it's worth, they didn't know they were schizo till they had the diagnosis, so it's not like I expected them to be culturally primed to interpret it in that light.
Overall I personally find the claims dubious, but I can't conclusively rule it out.
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