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Hwabyeong

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Hwabyeong
Hangul화병
Hanja火病
Revised Romanizationhwabyeong
McCune–Reischauerhwapyŏng

Hwabyeong or Hwapyŏng (Korean: 화병; Hanja: 火病) is a Korean somatization disorder, a mental illness which arises when people are unable to confront their anger as a result of conditions which they perceive to be unfair. Hwabyeong is known as a Korean culture-bound syndrome. Hwabyeong is a colloquial name, and it refers to the etiology of the disorder rather than its symptoms or apparent characteristics. In one survey, 4.1% of the general population in a rural area in South Korea were reported as having hwabyeong. Hwabyeong is similar to Amuk.

History

The first reported case of hwabyeong in Korea was Prince Sado (Yi Seon, 1735-1762), Lady Hyegyeong (Prince Sado wife) mentions many times of her husband's anger and symptoms in her autobiography as Hua-tseung, meaning fire symptoms. Prince Sado symptoms of impulsive actions from unfair treatment from his father, king Yeongjo, led him to threaten officials and often beat his eunuchs. He once walked in his chambers holding the severed head of the eunuch he had killed, killing court officials became common. Prince Sado's hwabyeong was displayed in the movie “The Throne (film)".

Hwabyeong was first discussed in 1967 and 1970, which survey of the concept of mental illness was done in 1975 in rural areas. In 1983, psychiatrist Keh-Ming Lin from UCLA Medical Center suggested that hwabyeong was a culture-bond syndrome, after treating three Korean-American women.

The word hwabyeong is composed of hwa (the Sino-Korean word 火 for "fire" which can also contextually mean "anger") and byeong (the Sino-Korean word 病 for "syndrome" or "illness"). It may also be called ulhwabyeong (울화병, 鬱火病), literally "depression anger illness".

Symptoms

Physical symptoms include:

Psychological symptoms include:

  • being easily startled
  • externalization of anger, also known in Korean as "bun" (분, 憤; "eruption of anger"), a Korean culture-related sentiment related to social unfairness
  • generally sad mood
  • frequent sighing
  • a feeling of "eok-ul" (억울, 抑鬱; unfairness)
  • being easily agitated
  • feelings of guilt
  • feelings of impending doom

Diagnosed patients may also have a medical history of prior major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, or adjustment disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria.

Diagnosed patients are most likely to be middle-aged, post-menopausal women with low socio-economic status.

Causes

Underlying causes may include:

Triggering causes are typically external events, including:

  • familial stressors, e.g. spousal infidelity or conflict with in-laws
  • witnessing acts/actions/phenomena that conflict with one's own moral and/or ethical principles

The syndrome itself is believed to be the result of the continued repression of feelings of anger without addressing their source. In holistic medicine the containment of anger in hwabyeong disturbs the balance of the five bodily elements, resulting in the development of psychosomatic symptoms such as panic, insomnia, and depression after a long period of repressed feelings.

It is possible that hormonal imbalances such as those around the time of menopause may also be an underlying cause of hwabyeong in middle-aged women, the most often-diagnosed demographic.

Middle-aged or older women have been reported to be more likely to be diagnosed with hwabyeong than men. 87.5% of women and 12.5% of men experience hwabyeong in 1987 report by (Min, Lee, Kang, Lee, 1987). The disparages for women can be pointed to gender roles in Korean culture, which adds considerable amount of stress. Additional stress of financial, domestic abuse, extramarital affairs, and social stigma can contribute to hwabyeong symptoms.

Study was conducted with late 30’s to middle 60’s Korean women, which separated by two groups, native Korean and Korean immigrants to the United States. The study measured life stress by exploring factors including individual characteristics of stress response (measured by the Stress Response Inventory) and anger regulation (STAXI-Korean version). External environmental characteristics of life stress (measured by Life stress for Korean women) were also factored in. Data of demographic background, age, family structure, financial and employment status, religion, and educational background were recorded to find correlation to hwabyeong levels.

In the conclusion of the study a slight number of hwabyeong have been reported by native Korean compared to Korean immigrant women, but with higher stress response and life stress also higher than native Korean women. Findings concluded that native and immigrant Korean women share overall numeral risk factors for hwabyeong, but focused on different stress factors. Partial cultural assimilation of western culture has been a factor on cognitive response to hwabyeong, by employing somatic reactions; compare to native Korean women reacting to more negative thoughts. There has been data supporting a slight increase in stress response and anger regulation for Korean immigrants, but data showing both native and immigrant groups having different proportional stress factors. Korean immigrants tend to regulate their anger better than their counterpart, decreasing the effects of hwabyeong.

Treatment

Western doctors are more likely to diagnose it as a kind of stress or depression. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders currently lists hwabyeong among its culture-bound illnesses. Outside of Korea, informally hwabyeong may be mistaken as a reference to a psychological profile marked by a short temper, or explosive, generally bellicose behavior. To the contrary, hwabyeong is a traditional psychological term used to refer to a condition characterized by passive suffering, is roughly comparable to depression, and is typically associated with older women. It is important that when diagnosing hwabyeong, the culture of the patient is well understood. Since hwabyeong can often be misdiagnosed as depression, the symptoms and culture need to be clearly and thoroughly looked into. Once hwabyeong has been diagnosed, past treatments need to be reviewed. The treatments for the patient can then be a combination of pharmacological, and therapy-based interventions.

The treatment methods used to combat hwabyeong include psychotherapy, drug treatment, family therapy, and community approaches. To be more successful, psychiatrists might need to incorporate the teachings from traditional and religious healing methods or the use of han-puri, which is the sentiment of resolving, loosening, unraveling, and appeasing negative emotions with positive ones. One example of han-puri would be a mother who has suffered from poverty, less education, a violent husband, or a harsh mother-in-law, that can be solved many years later by the success of her son for which she had endured hardships and sacrifices.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rhi, Bou-Yong (2004). "Hwabyung (火病) - An Overview". Psychiatry Investigation. 1 (1): 21–4.
  2. ^ Min, Sung Kil (Jan 2009). "Hwabyung in Korea: Culture and Dynamic Analysis" (PDF). World Cultural Psychiatry Research Review. 4 (1). World association of cultural psychiatry: 12–21. ISSN 1932-6270. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-13.
  3. (in Japanese) 韓国の会社員が最もむかつく瞬間は？ 中央日報日本語版 2013年4月2日
  4. Rhi, B.-Y. (2004). Hwabyung -An Overview. Psychiatry investigation, 1(1), 21–24. https://www.psychiatryinvestigation.org/upload/pdf/0502004004.pdf
  5. Min, Sung Kil. (2009, January). Hwabyung : Culture and Dynamic Analysis. Retrieved July 19, 2013, from World Cultural Psychiatry Research Review."Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2016-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Min, Sung Kil; Suh, Shin-Young; Song, Ki-Jun (2009). "Symptoms to Use for Diagnostic Criteria of Hwa-Byung, an Anger Syndrome". Psychiatry Investigation. 6 (1): 7–12. doi:10.4306/pi.2009.6.1.7. PMC 2796033. PMID 20046367.
  7. Lee, Jee Hyang (2014). A cross-cultural study of Hwa-Byung with middle-aged women between native Koreans in South Korea and Korean immigrants in the United States (Thesis). doi:10.17077/etd.a5o4cv5z. OCLC 892994008. ProQuest 1617974997.
  8. Choi, Myunghan; Yeom, Hye-A (May 2011). "Identifying and treating the culture-bound syndrome of Hwa-Byung among older Korean immigrant women: Recommendations for practitioners: Hwa-Byung in older Korean immigrant women". Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 23 (5): 226–232. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2011.00607.x. PMID 21518070.

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