--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that we're making a mistake if we…" description: "\"I think that we're making a mistake if we don't see that there is a cultural basis to many illnesses, not just psychiatric ones. Breast cancer would be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/jonathan-michel-metzl-42347_bases_i-think-that-we-re-making-a-mistake-if-w_2489029.jpg" --- # I think that we're making a mistake if we don't see that… ![“I think that we're making a mistake if we don't see that there is a cultural basis to many illnesses, not just psychiatric ones. Breast cancer would be one prevalent example right now, different kind of cultures surrounding it. If you don't understand the cultural meaning of an illness like that…” quote by Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/jonathan-michel-metzl-42347_bases_i-think-that-we-re-making-a-mistake-if-w_2489029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/jonathan-michel-metzl-42347_bases_i-think-that-we-re-making-a-mistake-if-w_2489029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cee/jonathan-michel-metzl-42347_bases_i-think-that-we-re-making-a-mistake-if-w_2489029.jpg) > “I think that we're making a mistake if we don't see that there is a cultural basis to many illnesses, not just psychiatric ones. Breast cancer would be one prevalent example right now, different kind of cultures surrounding it. If you don't understand the cultural meaning of an illness like that you're going to miss the boat even if you're a great scientist.” [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Health must be viewed through cultural lenses to fully grasp disease causes and impacts. **In simple terms:** Culture shapes illness understanding. Key Takeaway Integrate cultural insight into medical research. Themes health culture illness interdisciplinary science Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - clinical practice - public health policy - patient communication - research design Key Concepts Medical anthropology social determinants of health cultural competence Questions to Reflect On - How does culture alter disease perception? - What steps can scientists take to learn cultural contexts? A Different Perspective Cultural factors are complex and may conflict with biological explanations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breast cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breast-cancer/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Great scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-scientist/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Making mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-mistakes/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Cancer is just a word that creates fear. Forget about that word, and let's just focus on balancing your body. All illnesses are just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-moorjani/cancer-is-just-a-word-that-creates-fear-forget-about-that-word-and/) [Anita Moorjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-moorjani/) > [In most cases stress is the root cause of death; illnesses are just the wrap up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yordan-yordanov/in-most-cases-stress-is-the-root-cause-of-death-illnesses-are-just/) Yordan Yordanov > [A man who says that men are machines may be a great scientist. A man who says he is a machine is 'depersonalized' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/a-man-who-says-that-men-are-machines-may-be-a-great-scientist-a-man/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [“Oh, the loneliness, the loneliness. It lived inside her now like an illness, like a flu that could be ignored and then would suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/oh-the-loneliness-the-loneliness-it-lived-inside-her-now-like-an/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [There's something universal about illness... Whether you like it, at some level all patients are saying, 'Daddy, Mommy, help me, tell me it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/there-s-something-universal-about-illness-whether-you-like-it-at-some/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Having a mental illness is like a roller coaster ride. You don't jump off when it's still moving. You have to continue to ride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-anne-allen/having-a-mental-illness-is-like-a-roller-coaster-ride-you-don-t-jump/) Stephanie Anne Allen > [Piers looked up at him. 'You're new. What's your name?' 'Neythen, my lord.' 'Sounds like a terrible illness. No, more like a bowel problem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/piers-looked-up-at-him-you-re-new-what-s-your-name-neythen-my-lord/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [But you have to understand, mental illness is like cholesterol. There is is good kind and the bad. Without the good kind- less flavor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dorsey/but-you-have-to-understand-mental-illness-is-like-cholesterol-there/) [Tim Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dorsey/) > [We need to treat people with mental illness like people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauro-ranallo/we-need-to-treat-people-with-mental-illness-like-people/) [Mauro Ranallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauro-ranallo/) > [Without anxiety and illness I should have been like a ship without a rudder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/without-anxiety-and-illness-i-should-have-been-like-a-ship-without-a/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Without anxiety and illness I would have been like a ship without a rudder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/without-anxiety-and-illness-i-would-have-been-like-a-ship-without-a/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Recovery from illness often seems like beginning life all over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-meigs/recovery-from-illness-often-seems-like-beginning-life-all-over-again/) Cornelia Meigs > [Concealing an illness is like keeping a beach ball under water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-duffy/concealing-an-illness-is-like-keeping-a-beach-ball-under-water/) [Karen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-duffy/) > [“Depression is a physical illness, like bleeding from a wound that won’t close. You cannot fix it, it doesn’t heal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaia-b-amman/depression-is-a-physical-illness-like-bleeding-from-a-wound-that-won/) [Gaia B. Amman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaia-b-amman/) > [People get sick and sometimes they get better and sometimes they don't. And it doesn't matter if the sickness is cancer or if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/people-get-sick-and-sometimes-they-get-better-and-sometimes-they-don/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) ## More by Jonathan Michel Metzl > [There are really exciting things happening in genetic and neurobiology right now, and really looking at the ways in which different not just illnesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/there-are-really-exciting-things-happening-in-genetic-and/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [ I think President \[Barack\] Obama is exactly right, we need to combat \[gun shoots\] because this really can become the new normal, but that's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/i-think-president-barack-obama-is-exactly-right-we-need-to-combat-gun/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [I think that one of the other lessons about what happened here is that open carry laws, even though many police, sheriff departments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/i-think-that-one-of-the-other-lessons-about-what-happened-here-is/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [I'm a practicing psychiatrist and I think that I really believe in the advances of psychiatry. Our diagnoses are more precise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/i-m-a-practicing-psychiatrist-and-i-think-that-i-really-believe-in/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [Depression as one example is an illness that has a chemical basis, but also is deeply embedded in cultural norms about gender, social class,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/depression-as-one-example-is-an-illness-that-has-a-chemical-basis-but/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [Particularly with schizophrenia you see a lot of concern that these people could escape and kill people, or they could threaten our political order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/particularly-with-schizophrenia-you-see-a-lot-of-concern-that-these/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [ The issue of guns, as president \[Barack\] Obama mentioned, which is particularly assailant in Colorado, a very complicated gun story, and I think a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/the-issue-of-guns-as-president-barack-obama-mentioned-which-is/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [I think part of why schizophrenia got linked to civil rights protest in the '60s was because mainstream society was coding threats against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/i-think-part-of-why-schizophrenia-got-linked-to-civil-rights-protest/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) > [Mental illness is a real thing. It has real material consequences for people who suffer from it and at the time even the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-michel-metzl/mental-illness-is-a-real-thing-it-has-real-material-consequences-for/) [Jonathan Michel Metzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) [Explore all 10 Jonathan Michel Metzl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-michel-metzl/) ## More Bases quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [According to the best research, less than 3% of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/according-to-the-best-research-less-than-3-of-americans-have-written/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . 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That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) Browse all 2,701 Bases quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that we're making a mistake if we don't see that there is a cultural basis to many illnesses, not just psychiatric ones. Breast cancer would be one prevalent example right now, different kind of cultures surrounding it. 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