Johyeonbyung (attunement disorder): Renaming mind splitting disorder as a way to reduce stigma of patients with schizophrenia in Korea

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• 作者：Yu Sang Lee^a ; II Ho Park^b ; Seon-Cheol Park^a ; Jae-Jin Kim^c ; Jun Soo Kwon^d ; ^{kwonjs@snu.ac.kr" class="auth_mail}
• 关键词：Schizophrenia ; Attunement disorder ; Metaphor ; Neural network ; Social stigma
• 刊名：Asian Journal of Psychiatry
• 出版年：April, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：8
• 期：Complete
• 页码：118-120
• 全文大小：247 K

文摘

The term schizophrenia, which comes from the Greek roots 鈥渟khizein鈥?and 鈥減hren,鈥?was translated as 鈥?em>Jungshinbunyeolbyung鈥?/em> in East Asian Countries, including Japan, Korea, and China. The term literally means 鈥渕ind-splitting disease.鈥?This term has generated a misconception of the disorder as an untreatable chaotic personality, thus instilling stigma and causing suffering in patients and their families. This socio-cultural connotation has impeded medical treatment of schizophrenia. Recent neuroscience research has suggested neural network dysfunction in schizophrenia. Accordingly, a new term, 鈥?em>Johyeonbyung (attunement disorder)鈥? was coined in South Korea. This term literally refers to tuning a string instrument, and metaphorically it describes schizophrenia as a disorder caused by mistuning of the brain's neural network. We expect that the term Johyeonbyung will incite less prejudice and that its metaphoric description of the disorder may help patients to access medical treatment in the early phase. The name of a psychiatric disorder can influence others鈥?attitudes toward patients; thus, discretion is crucial in naming psychiatric disorders.