Tension and Other Idioms of Distress Among Slum Dwelling Young Men: A Qualitative Study of Depression in Urban Bangladesh

In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) it is vital to understand acceptable, comprehensive, and culturally appropriate ways of communicating about mental distress. Diagnostic terminology is rarely used, may be stigmatizing, and is subject to misinterpretation. Local terms, such as idioms of distress, can improve mental health literacy and service delivery. Our objective was to examine lived experience and coping connected to distress and depression in an under-researched population: young men from LMIC urban slums. We conducted 60 qualitative interviews with men (ages 18–29) in Bhashantek slum, Bangladesh. Themes were generated using thematic analysis and grounded theory techniques. The heart-mind (mon), mentality (manoshikota), mood (mejaj), head (matha or “brain”), and body (shorir) comprised the self-concept, and were related to sadness, hopelessness, anger, worry, and mental illness. The English word “tension” was the central idiom of distress. “Tension” existed on a continuum, from mild distress or motivational anxiety, to moderate distress including rumination and somatic complaints, to severe psychopathology including anhedonia and suicidality. Respondents connected “tension” to burnout experiences and mental illness which was summarized in an ethnopsychological model. These findings can inform culturally sensitive measurement tools and interventions that are acceptable to the community, potentially increasing engagement and enhancing therapeutic outcomes.