Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, 2110 G St NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Cult Med Psychiatry. 2021 Dec;45(4):655-682. doi: 10.1007/s11013-020-09697-z. Epub 2021 Jan 2.
Idioms of distress have been employed in psychological anthropology and global mental health to solicit localized understandings of suffering. The idiom "thinking too much" is employed in cultural settings worldwide to express feelings of emotional and cognitive disquiet with psychological, physical, and social consequences on people's well-being and daily functioning. This systematic review investigates how, where, and among whom the idiom "thinking too much" within varied Sub-Saharan African contexts was investigated. We reviewed eight databases and identified 60 articles, chapters, and books discussing "thinking too much" across Sub-Saharan Africa. Across 18 Sub-Saharan African countries, literature on "thinking too much" focused on particular sub-populations, including clinical populations, including people living with HIV or non-communicable diseases, and women experiencing perinatal or postnatal depression; health workers and caregivers; and non-clinical populations, including refugees and conflict-affected communities, as well as community samples with and without depression. "Thinking too much" reflected a broad range of personal, familial, and professional concerns that lead someone to be consumed with "too many thoughts." This research demonstrates that "thinking too much" is a useful idiom for understanding rumination and psychiatric distress while providing unique insights within cultural contexts that should not be overlooked when applied in clinical settings.
在心理人类学和全球心理健康学中，惯用表达被用来征集对苦难的本地化理解。“想太多”这个惯用表达在世界范围内的文化背景中被用来表达因心理、身体和社会问题而产生的情绪和认知不安，这会对人们的幸福和日常生活功能造成影响。本系统综述旨在调查在不同撒哈拉以南非洲背景下，该惯用表达“想太多”是如何、在何处、以及针对哪些人群进行研究的。我们检索了八个数据库，确定了 60 篇讨论撒哈拉以南非洲地区“想太多”的文章、章节和书籍。在 18 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家中，关于“想太多”的文献主要集中在特定的亚人群上，包括临床人群，如艾滋病毒感染者或非传染性疾病患者以及经历围产期或产后抑郁的女性；卫生工作者和护理人员；以及非临床人群，如难民和受冲突影响的社区，以及有和没有抑郁的社区样本。“想太多”反映了一系列广泛的个人、家庭和职业问题，这些问题导致人们陷入“过多的思考”。这项研究表明，“想太多”是一个有用的惯用表达，可以用来理解反刍和精神困扰，同时在文化背景下提供独特的见解，在临床环境中应用时不应忽视这些见解。
