Hwa-byung: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment Of This Cultural Syndrome
There are various mental disorders that have been classified as “cultural syndromes,” which are psychosomatic syndromes that have been detected in some specific cultures or societies, such as, for example, amok, which is native to Indonesia; the koro, from China; or the Korean hwa-byung, which is what we are going to talk about in this article.
The syndrome known as hwa-byung is a somatization disorder related to the difficulty that some people suffer in managing the states of anger that they have felt in the face of injustice, so that by repressing the feelings they can suffer physical and emotional symptoms. psychological (e.g. sadness, frustration or noticeable tiredness, among others).
In this article we will explain what hwa-byung syndrome consists of.what are its possible causes and whether there is any treatment.
Hwa-byung, also called wool-hwa-byung (Hwabyeong or Hwapyŏng) is a somatization disorder originating from Korea and closely linked to its culture.
This can develop when a person is not able to manage the anger felt in situations that they consider to be unfair, so The repression of your emotions will end up triggering the development of this syndrome and a series of both psychological and physical symptoms. that are closely linked to it (for example, feelings of frustration, sadness, insomnia, fatigue, headache, etc.).
We can find this syndrome in different diagnostic manuals on international mental disorders such as the DSM or the ICD, among others, in the section dedicated to cultural syndromes, where other syndromes or mental disorders are found that are closely linked to culture. where they were discovered; although in recent years they have gradually aroused greater interest from researchers and health professionals around various parts of the world.
Both hwa-byung and the rest of the cultural syndromes have been slow to be investigated by the international scientific community; However, these have become more important in recent decades due to the growth of cultural diversity in Western countries, such as the United States, a country in which it is very important to study cultural syndromes such as hwa-byung, since it is estimated that its population includes more than 2 million people of Korean origin.
Among the detected and diagnosed cases of hwa-byung, a series of symptoms associated with this syndrome when it develops in people over a long period of timegiving rise to a series of symptoms, one or several of which may occur at the same time, such as the following:
As we have seen, there are numerous physical and psychological symptoms that can develop when suffering from hwabyung syndrome, which is why this has aroused the interest of several researchers, leading to an increase in studies in this regard. This has facilitated the detection of a greater number of cases, so that this has also given rise to more research into Possible treatments to alleviate symptoms.
It should be noted that in a study on hwa-byung, in which a series of brain scans were performed, they found a series of measurable traces in the brain as a result of having suffered from this syndrome, among which they could observe lower levels of activity in brain areas that are directly involved in controlling impulses and emotions.
Causes
There is research in this regard that estimates that hwa-byung could affect approximately 10,000 people in South Korea every year. The average profile of a person who suffers from this syndrome is that of a middle-aged woman or older with a low socioeconomic level.
On the other hand, they were able to observe that it was common for this syndrome to begin to develop in complicated moments in the lives of these people such as a divorce process, marital problems or conflicts with other members of their family.
The predisposition to suffer from hwa-byung syndrome due to the fact that it is not widely accepted at a social level to externalize emotions, so it would be this tendency to internalize what can predispose and facilitate the end up triggering said syndrome, as well as can also favor its maintenance over time. In addition, This tendency to internalize emotions can make it difficult to seek psychological help..
Hwa-byung syndrome is a fairly complex mental disorder that could be caused by various psychosocial factors. Furthermore, as we had previously mentioned, it is a Korean cultural syndrome, and more specifically, it is linked to South Korea, since no data is shown regarding North Korea.
In Western culture, the symptoms that are part of hwa-byung syndrome could fit with some mood disorder, with components of anxiety, depression, stress, etc. It should be noted that this syndrome has a high comorbidity with anger-related disorders, major depressive disorder and also generalized anxiety disorder.
Treatment
Since its discovery, hwa-byung syndrome has been treated mainly from the medical model, since although patients suffering from this syndrome are aware of its psychogenic origin, they do not usually seek help from a psychologist or psychiatrist due to that in their culture, as is still the case today in much of the world, there is a certain reluctance among the general population to seek this type of help because it is considered something that is not yet fully socially accepted.
Therefore, they are more likely to seek medical treatment to treat the physical symptoms related to hwa-byung syndrome (e.g., fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, etc.).
On the other hand, to treat the psychological symptoms of hwa-byung syndrome Other alternatives to psychological therapy that are more rooted and socially acceptable within Korean culture are usually used.such as traditional medicine (herbalism), acupuncture and even in some cases it has been decided to seek the help of shamans.
In research carried out with Koreans in relation to the mental health problems they may suffer, it was discovered that when they have a problem on a psychological level they tend to deal with it by seeking informal help from close people such as family and friends. closest, instead of seeking help from mental health professionals, the latter option being taken into account as a last resort.
However, In recent years the demand for psychological help from professionals has been increasingnot being different in Korean culture, so cases of hwa-byung syndrome have already been treated through different psychological treatments such as cognitive therapy, support therapies that follow a psychodynamic approach and also psychological therapies based on programs of stress reduction based on mindfulness, the latter of which demonstrated positive and encouraging results with respect to the reduction of hwa-byung symptoms.
It should be noted that in 2006 a study was published that showed promising results about the use of a MMPI-2 scale, a tool that has been widely used to evaluate personality and psychopathology, and which in this case was designed to evaluate the characteristics of hwa-byung. This scale analyzed important components related to this syndrome, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, anger, feelings of hopelessness, and general health.
However, although the results obtained with the adaptation of a MMPI-2 scale to evaluate hwa-byung were encouraging, more clinical studies are needed to allow greater validation of said scale.
