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From Individualism to Interconnectedness
Many people living in the Western world have been shaped by predominantly individualistic values that view a person and their problems in isolation from other factors. This could be understood as part of the heritage of Western rationalism that was furthered during the Enlightenment period beginning in the 17th century. The focus on scientific reasoning in this period placed a high value on breaking things down into their smallest parts to study and make sense of them, as well as prioritizing the mind and mental reasoning over the body and emotional life. The Western world of mental health is shaped by this individualism; historically this has looked like the tendency to pathologize issues related to relational and cultural traumas, as well as viewing symptoms through a mental and scientific lens of diagnosis rather than a holistic view that includes a person’s emotional life, trauma, culture and history of relationships.