Submitted by Jofroop t3_10bkjx9 in dataisbeautiful
coyets t1_j4fkgwo wrote
Reply to comment by YaBasically in Share of global population with mental health disorders by Jofroop
In other words, this is not displaying the proportion of the population in each country that has a mental disorder, but the proportion that is diagnosed as having one, which in turn is mainly measuring the cultural and political significance in each country given to treating mental disorders.
YaBasically t1_j4knoiv wrote
That would be a more accurate claim at least, but that helps me clarify the main & inevitable issue with this graph overall...because yes, it does reflect a cultural emphasis on mental health in some places, but not others at the same time. For I wouldn't say that New Zealanders or Australians place more of a cultural significance on diagnosing disorders than other nations, or that they are naturally more prone to mental disorders or addictions within their populations, but I can say that, historically, these were 'prison colonies' of other nations for centuries and access to alcohol or drugs were not as culturally restrictive as it was elsewhere, which is basically like "hello issues!" The same could be said for the United States, which was also historically used to imprison criminals from Europe, but meanwhile, in other nations, criminals of the same sort were simply eradicated from existence. So is that what this graph reflects? The consequences of how populations have addressed mental health issues over time? Or does it reflect more current cultural standards? Which holds more significance? Is it culture & environment, or more inherent, like genealogical? Truth is, it's all of these things, in part...in very small part...in the midst of many other parts...extremely complicated & ever-changing parts...all of which are too significant alone not to be considered & counted towards any "global" or "universal" claim.
I'd say this is simply an impossible thing to map, but that's just my opinion. This graph, however, is most certainly too flawed to definitively reflect anything beyond...well...those who carried out & participated in the mapping- or in other words, their definition of the issues they've attempted to map.
Given what I know to be true, such a graph is useless without complete context- or in other words, any 'graph' is useless in regards to 'mental health' in a general or global context.
YaBasically t1_j4kq1af wrote
Another thing is, that even tho the dark red coloring indicates more of 'problem' in certain areas, that's really misleading, isn't it? I mean, if you consider that this graph COULD be reflecting the populations in the world who do consider mental health to be a significant issue...isn't the first step to addressing a problem, acknowledging that it exists?
I think that's a problem with this graph- it doesn't differentiate between those who are progressing towards solutions vs. those who are dismissing problems...but then again, I live in one of the glaring red places! ;) Of course, I'm biased.
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