"Thinking a Lot" Among the Khwe of South Africa: A Key Idiom of Personal and Interpersonal Distress.
"Thinking too much", and variations such as "thinking a lot", are common idioms of distress across the world. The contextual meaning of this idiom of distress in particular localities remains largely unknown. This paper reports on a systematic study of the content and cause, consequences, and social response and coping related to the local terms |x'an n|a te and |eu-ca n|a te, both translated as "thinking a lot", and was part of a larger ethnographic study among the Khwe of South Africa. Semi-structured exploratory interviews with community members revealed that "thinking a lot" refers to a common experience of reflecting on personal and interpersonal problems. Consequences were described in emotional, psychological, social, behavioral, and physical effects. Coping strategies included social support, distraction, and religious practices. Our contextualized approach revealed meanings and experiences of "thinking a lot" that go beyond a psychological state or psychopathology. The common experience of "thinking a lot" is situated in socio-political, economic, and social context that reflect the marginalized and displaced position of the Khwe. We argue that "thinking a lot" and associated local meanings may vary across settings, may not necessarily indicate psychopathology, and should be understood in individual, interpersonal, community, and socio-political dimensions.
Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15718, 1001 NE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. t.n.denhertog@uva.nl.|African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands. t.n.denhertog@uva.nl.
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den Hertog
Reha-Prime, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Zurich, Switzerland.
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de Jong
Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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van der Ham
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Hinton
Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15718, 1001 NE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Public Health & Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.|School of Child and Adolescent Health, the Children's Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013019:South Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology*; D013850:Thinking
Idioms of distress; Mental health; San; South Africa; Thinking too much