PATTERNS OF DEPRESSION IN THREE CULTURES

West Nigeria India

Incidence Common Rare (artifact?) Common

Sick role Acknowledged Not acknowledged (no word Acknowledged

for depression)

Hypochondriasis Less common Common Common

Paranoid symptoms Uncommon Most frequent Rare

Guilt feelings Frequent Almost absent Rare

Retarded/agitated R > A A > R A > R (artifact?)

Fugitive impulse Not described Common (wander into jungle) Frequent (renunciation)

Suicide Common Rare Less common

Adapted from J. S. Neki, “Psychiatry in South-East Asia,” British Journal of Psychiatry, 123 (1973): 257–269. 166 crossing a bridge

fined, because in a crowd there may be no quick way for the anxious individual to get to a place he or she regards as safe.

See also CLOSED PLACES, FEAROF; CONFINEMENT, FEAROF.

crucifixes, fear of Fear of crucifixes, or the image of Christ on a cross, or of items in the shape of a cross, is known as staurophobia. This fear may be related to religious fears, superstitious fears, or fear of the supernatural.

See also SUPERNATURAL, FEAROF.

crying, fear of Some individuals who are quick to cry in uncomfortable situations may avoid those situations because they fear others will see them cry. They may fear criticism for their tearful reac- tions. This is a type of social phobia and can be treated with behavior therapy.

See also BEHAVIORTHERAPY; SOCIALPHOBIA.

cryophobia Fear of extremely cold temperatures, cold objects, or ice. Also known as psychrophobia and frigophobia.

See also COLD, FEAROF; ICE, FEAROF.

crystallophobia Fear of glass. See also GLASS, FEAROF.

cult A group devoted to a leader, usually a religious leader, who claims ultimate wisdom. Cults usually have a rigid power structure and regulations.

Recent cults share certain similarities. They seem to have arisen the 1960s, a period of social unrest when values were questioned and criticized. Depend- ing on the cult, new recruits are people who may not be emotionally stable, may lack family and close friends, and are searching for relief from the con- fusion and anxieties of modern life. Cult leaders welcome new members with an attitude of caring and acceptance, creating a strong emotional experi- ence for them. The moral behavior and attitudes of the cult are dictated by strong peer pressure. Mem-

bers are made to feel that there are continually higher levels of commitment or sanctity that they can attain. Leaving or questioning the values of the group is looked upon as evil or sinful. Members are reminded that to return to the outside would be to return to the confusion and anxiety they had for- merly faced. Some cults also may have social and political reform or terrorism as their goals. Fam- ily and friends of cult recruits find affiliations by their loved ones a source of anxiety. Some new cult members sever all close ties and disappear without warning.

Deprogrammers who specialize in trying to extri- cate cults members are often hired by their families. These deprogrammers may use force or coercion to remove members from the cult environment and, then, implement BRAINWASHING techniques similar to those used by the cults in their indoctrination.

culture shock See CROSS-CULTURAL INFLUENCES; MIGRATION.

cupping See CROSS-CULTURALINFLUENCES.

curses, fear of In many cultures, individuals fear that harm will come to them because of verbaliza- tions of such wishes from others. Ancient Greeks and Romans publicly put curses on offenders against the government, traitors, and enemies of the country. William Shakespeare is said to have put a curse on anyone who might disturb his grave. Fears of curses are associated with fears of witch- craft and Voodoo.

See also EVIL EYE, FEAR OF; VOODOO, FEAR OF; WITCHESANDWITCHCRAFT, FEAROF; ZOMBIE, FEAROF.

cyberphobia Fear of computers, computerization, or things related to computers.

See also COMPUTERPHOBIA.

cyclones, fear of Fear of cyclones is known as anemophobia. Individuals who fear cyclones may also fear strong winds or air movements.

See also AIR, FEAR OF; CLIMATE, FEAR OF; WIND, FEAROF.

cyclophobia Fear of bicycles.

cyclothymia A chronic mood disturbance in which the individual regularly experiences alter- nating moods of elation and DEPRESSION, usually unrelated to external circumstances. It is some- times considered a milder type of BIPOLAR (MANIC- DEPRESSIVE) DISORDER. A cyclothymic individual has had at least two years of this disorder (one year for children and adolescents) and many periods of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure not as severe as the criteria for a major depressive or a manic episode. Cyclothymia differs from DEPRES- SION and manic episodes in that the individual is not markedly impaired in social or occupational activities during the hypomanic episodes. However, many cyclothymic individuals experience difficul- ties in their social relationships, in school, and at work because of recurrent cycles of mood swings and the anxiety that comes about because of the rapid changes in mood. The disorder, which usu- ally begins in adolescence or early adult life and sometimes develops into bipolar disorder, is appar- ently equally common in males and females. Major depression and bipolar disorder may be more com- mon among first-degree biologic relatives of people

who have cyclothymia than among the general population.

See also PERSONALITYTYPES.

American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual of Mental Disorder (Washington, DC: American

Psychiatric Press, 1987).

cymophobia Fear of waves or wavelike motions. Derived from the Greek word kymo meaning wave. Also known as kymophobia.

See also MOTION, FEAROF; WAVES, FEAROF.

cynophobia Fear of dogs or fear of rabies; also known as kynophobia. The term is derived from the Greek word cyno, meaning dog.

See also DOGS, FEAROF.

cyprianophobia Fear of prostitutes; also known as cyprinophobia.

See also PROSTITUTES, FEAROF; SEXUALFEARS.

cypridophobia Fear of sexually transmitted dis- eases. The term is derived from the Greek word kypris, meaning Venus, the goddess of love. Cypri- dophobia also means fear of sexual intercourse.

See also SEXUALINTERCOURSE, FEAROF. 168 cyclophobia

daemonophobia See DEMONOPHOBIA.

dampness, fear of Fear of dampness, wetness, moistness or excessive humidity is known as hygrophobia.

dance therapy Dance therapy permits release of anxieties and expression of emotion through body movement. It can be used effectively with a wide variety of individuals, from those who have mild anxiety symptoms to those who have severe men- tal health disorders. Many individuals who will not speak about their anxieties will indicate something about them with movement. Movement also helps the client be “in touch” with their body and release tensions stored in the body.

Therapists who use this technique are usually trained in dance and body movement as well as psychology. Dance therapy alone does not relieve symptoms associated with anxiety disorders, but may be used in conjunction with other therapies or medication.

See also CREATIVITY.

dancing, fear of Fear of dancing is known as cho- rophobia. Fear of dancing may be a SOCIALPHOBIA that can be overcome by taking dancing lessons, or it may have more deep-seated causes, such as fear of coming into close contact with another person, being touched, or touching another person, par- ticularly one of the opposite sex. This fear may be related to fears of the opposite sex or sexual fears.

See also SEXUALFEARS.

darkness, fear of Fear of darkness is also known as achluophobia, lygophobia, myctophobia, nyc-

tophobia, and scotophobia. Fear of darkness is asso- ciated with feelings of uncertainty, helplessness, the inability to see what one is doing, and a sense of unfamiliarity because things look different in the dark. Children often develop a fear of darkness at about two years of age. Their first fears of darkness are associated with separation from their parents. Fear of the dark may be partly produced by the sense of being alone. At older ages, children com- monly say they hear noises or see images and may imagine ghosts or monsters. As children get older, most lose their fears of the dark, but if they do not outgrow their normal fear, the fear may develop into a phobia in which darkness has unconscious symbolic significance or is associated with danger and threat. Many individuals feel more secure with a night-light on during the night; they can assure themselves that they will not bump into anything if they arise in the dark. Some individuals fear dark- ness when driving; others will only ride in cars and not walk in the dark.

Fear of darkness in children and adults has been successfully treated with behavior modification approaches.

Fear of darkness is the opposite of fear of day- light, which is known as phengophobia. Many ago- raphobics feel more comfortable in the dark than in the light.

Individuals who are hearing-impaired have par- ticular fear of darkness, as they depend so much on visual stimuli. They may fear being alone in dark places, fear being robbed, or fear being attacked in dark situations.

See also NIGHTTERRORS.

dasein A term used in the existential approach to PSYCHOTHERAPY. Dasein is derived from the Ger-

man word meaning “being there.” The term was used originally by Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), a German philosopher, to describe aspects of an individual’s experience of awareness of self, others, environment, choices in deciding how to act upon the environment, and limitations by history and cul- ture. The individual struggles between freedom and limitation, which may lead to anxieties and fears. Heidegger’s approach held that, faced with the inevi- tability of death, man must find meaning in life, not through outer conformity and adaptation to others, but through self-understanding and self-analysis. By drawing on the uniqueness of experience and the pattern of our potentialities, each individual will develop his or her own kind of life and relief from ANXIETIES.

dasein analysis Dasein analysis is a form of exis- tential PSYCHOTHERAPY that utilizes classical psycho- analytic technique for relief of ANXIETIES and other psychological concerns. Dasein analysis is particu- larly associated with the work of Medard Boss, Swiss psychiatrist and author of Psychoanalysis and Dasein- analysis. Boss acknowledged the role of the past and the future in influencing the individual’s cur- rent behavior. Boss, like HUMANISTIC therapists and other EXISTENTIAL therapists, viewed the therapeutic relationship as requiring full participation of both parties. As in client-centered therapy, Boss stressed the curative power of the enduring, unshakable, benevolent, and tactful devotion that an individual receives from the analyst and believed that his rela- tionship, rather than interpretations, leads the indi- vidual to relief from anxieties and phobias.

See also, EXISTENTIALTHERAPY; PSYCHOANALYSIS.

Boss, M., Psychoanalysis and Dasein-Analysis (New York: Basic Books, 1963).

———, Existential Foundations of Medicine and Psychology (New York: Jason Aronson, 1971).

Walrond-Skinner, Sue, A Dictionary of Psychotherapy (Lon- don: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986).

dating A social process by which individuals become acquainted with one another and perhaps develop a relationship that may lead to friendship,

romance, sex, and/or marriage. Dating is stressful for participants of all ages. Individuals who have SOCIAL PHOBIAS find dating very difficult because they may fear meeting new people, criticism, embarrassment, or other results of social encounters.

For young people, dating is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Some young people begin dating during their teen years, while others wait until their college years. There are often issues of SELF-ESTEEM, and many are often held back from dating because of negative feelings about them- selves. Others may have the additional anxieties of CRITICISM of their dates by their parents. Addition- ally, peer pressure can make young people drink, smoke, or enter sexual relationships before they are ready and they may suffer the anxieties of pain and guilt because of their actions.

Individuals who are divorced or widowed find themselves back in the dating scene. Many con- cerns of young people hold true for older people as well, such as self-esteem and concern about appearance. For single parents, dating presents par- ticular anxieties, as young children often “screen” their parents’ dates. Some children ask embarass- ing questions, such as “are you going to marry my Daddy?”

Despite the anxieties inherent in dating, the pro- cess allows people a socially acceptable way of get- ting acquainted with others.

See also CRITICISM; DIVORCE; INTIMACY; PUBERTY; RELATIONSHIPS; REMARRIAGE; SELF-ESTEEM; SOCIAL PHOBIA.

dawn, fear of Fear of dawn is known as eosopho- bia. Fear of dawn may be related to fear of daylight