One element I might address is raising awareness of the condition, as well as anxiety and depression. Feelings of mental discomfort, with symptoms similar to anxiety and despair, appear to be widespread during the outset of anorexia in Hong Kong. As Watters (2010) describes, these appear to result in physical sensations, including anxiety and cold, during the onset of anorexia. This “side-effect” appears to be a result of the nervous system being overstimulated by low levels of dopamine, which the body produces to maintain feelings of well-being. Therefore, in similar ways that a migraine headache occurs because one has made their brain’s migraine-fighting neuropeptides too active, people with frequent non-food related cases of anorexia may begin to show signs of an adrenal imbalance because their bodies have produced too much adrenaline in response to anxiety and despair.

The key ethical aspects that I would emphasize in such a proposal are to address the mental impact of “mental imbalances” and suggest helping these people to better cope with these feelings. Specifically, this could be done through counseling or similar services, however it should not be seen as the responsibility of the individual alone and I believe that creating a national campaign to combat anorexia would help to clarify this point. I would clearly describe the role of the caring community in his study of eating disorders, and suggests that social stigma about eating disorders is something that can be helpful in reducing their prevalence.

I tend to think that the ability to collaborate with experts inside that culture is the most important component in preventing macro-social interventions by foreign psychologists from becoming a new type of colonialism. Bridging and exchanging ideas across cultures may give a new outside viewpoint while also providing protection from someone who genuinely understands the culture. It is also quite common in PhD and masters level, programs to examine ones own cultural biases and understanding of the culture. While this is a necessary step in progress, many will repeat what they already know rather than sample and test new ideas.

Reference

Watters E. (2010). The Rise of Anorexia in Hong Kong. In. E. Watters (eds.),The Globalization of The American Psyche – Crazy Like Us (pp. 9-63). New York, NY, US: Free Press – A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.