This citation makes reference to pain as one of the oldest mythological or allegorical correspondence to hell. Hell as a human damnation, worst of the worst suffering one can endure. Hell is folkloristic, traditional and religious believe of an eternal soul punishment for sins committed during the life. Here the drug user explains her mental state as hellish experience and drug use is a form of escapism. We can only assume that this person carries a burden of life that put her in a ‘depressive state’. She uses drugs to break off the ‘mental state’. This allegory is common among the drug users and any chronic pain sufferers to explain a pain as ‘hellish’ experience, experience of loneliness and void that only drugs can satisfy it. Although, author is not going into this allegories deeper interpretation, I believe, common society sees drug users putting themselves in the hell of addiction. Society does not see drug addicts’ psychological suffering as the 'hellish anguish'. There is a dissonant of ‘hell’ meaning between drug users and the rest of the “regular” society. This topic could be a research on its own.

It is clearly stated here that women did not take the lack of motivation as a biomedical symptom of PND. I believe this is associated with western culture, and not so much in India. Most likely they explain it as laziness of sort, but not as one of the depression symptoms, such as worrying and suicidal tendencies, which would more obvious in the matter.

These sentences clash with explanatory PND biomedical model. This is neither a physical symptom nor directly related to women's body. Marital communication and lack of interest from the husband adds to women psychological burden of childbirth and chores of taking care of the baby and the rest of the family. This cultural aspect of husbands not being part of women domestic obligation is not on the list of medical symptoms of depression. This cultural aspect of family structure and family functionality was not being taken under consideration regarding a medical explanatory model as this article is stating in thesis.

I don’t exactly agree with the author that rabbi is authoritative. Later Goodman also says: ”These moralistic tones were also expressed in Rabbi Dov’s gift to the psychiatrist, a book on Jewish attitudes towards death, and in his accompanied explanation”. The rabbi and his explanations may give the domeeniring appearance, however in my opinion rabbi wanted primarily to help Joseph. Rabbi realizes his failure and knowing that Joseph is turning to western psychiatrist, he wanted to inform and give background on Joseph religious upbringing, which in his opinion is the base and the root of Joseph’s latest breakdown. In my opinion, author failed to observe that beneficial side of the rabbi.

The patient clearly states that the accident he saw affected his day-to-day life. However, interesting is that he showed up at the medical clinic, after he was seeking help with his rabbi. The world 'suddenly' exposes that this decision was somewhat reluctant. As a religious man, he was supposed to be satisfied with his rabbi advice. We know that his wife influenced that decision and that reveals him not being comfortable with secular treatment of his mental condition. This shows his personality being torn between his religious and traditional ways of living and secular/western civilization impacting his community and culture. Being nervous about his visit at the clinic, show that this appointment also adds to his already existing anxiety about how hi will be perceived by the Haredi community and the rabbi. Therefore he is embodying his religion, his traditions, his upbringing with the word ‘suddenly’, as this appointment is as unexpected and unanticipated as the accident he just witnessed

Most of today western patients, when they have health problems go to a doctor for the prescription instead of complex set of health advice, which implemented in life contributes to the cure of illness and ailments. Many patients also don't realize the extent of social influences on their well being. This passage emphasizes that human lived experience (embodiment) is shaped by all aspects of social life, but institutional organizations have profound influence on an individual and on his well being. In my opinion religion is one of the most powerful one. Therefore medicinal practitioners should be willing to acknowledge once religion and tradition referring to patient health and hygiene. I am thinking maybe of a drastic example, but well illustrating that relation. The example of an outbreak of ebola in Africa few years ago. The medicine world had to break the cultural barriers, understand the burial traditions and regain a trust of locals, so they could translate to african communities how dangerous traditional burial practices are in spreading the virus.

This passage admits that anthropological research on disability studies has been long overdue and were mostly initiated by scientists somehow related to the topic, either encountering disability themselves or via kinship. These direct living experiences were brought to the discourse, because of an urgency of the social, cultural, political, and other, isolation, intolerance and inequality. As the study informs later most of the countries were ignoring such community in every aspect of social life. In some other countries, like rural Morocco, autistic child was rather perceived as someone with special abilities. Cultural and sociological barriers are difficult to brake for many disabilities that are not widely known and are rather feared of, like mental disabilities or impairments that show physical differences: dwarfism, etc. People affected by disability must fight for many social, cultural and even urban improvements and research conduction. This passage also shows that, technological progress and our civilization is very much on discriminating path. Only through acts of affected communities and with help of social scientists voices can be heard and change may be brought. Lets just look at subway system in NY. It is clear when metro was constructed in 1900 people with disability were not taken under consideration. NY subway is struggling with infrastructure up today with solving that issue on every station. In fact entire New York is really a difficult city and very limiting for many people with disabilities, especially those on wheelchairs.

Just like in my earlier post I think that auto-ethnography and self-experience bring really strong research case to the studies. Researcher experiencing a case himself brings credibility to a higher level, because of his relativity. He can also have a base point to a comparative research with his own insight and have easier relations with others as subjects of the study. Scientist conducting illness narrative autoethnography can have a stronger point to conduct the discourse with the medical research. He is more informed if doctors and medical community are conducting they work and they research on the right trajectory. He might have a stronger voice and actually can be easier accounted for by a medical world as a fellow scientist, opposed to patient, who is often viewed by medicine as uneducated and uninformed subject.

I'd like to annotate this part, because I find it related to me and I often hear a similar voice of people with whom I interact on everyday basis. I often feel and hear how patient-doctor relations are difficult to build. It is not easy to find a doctor whom you like and whom you trust. How often do we hear: "it's just a job for him (a doctor), I don't mean anything to him." In my opinion it is especially important for people with chronic or serious ailments. Patients often feel alienated from physicians and it has tremendous impact on their well being as well and a progress of their treatment. That's why I feel that sociologist and anthropologist in medical field are important scientist, because they can translate and transgress both realities of patients and medical practitioners and bring lived experiences of ill to a different meaning for professional medical understanding.

Here author talks about mental illness. People struggling with mental disorders, fe: depression or phobias often (not always) don't realize what is the cause. The struggle is especially difficult for the patients , because they are not able to articulate their realty, the symptoms, the cause and effect and therefore they lack the ability to go through therapy. Those events and feelings are so deeply psychologically displaced and blocked it usually takes years of therapy. When looking at wider social context of mental illness, we must take under consideration how these disorders are socially stigmatized and what effect it has on patients and family. I am wondering how in some cases such negative outside relations add new symptoms and trauma to the patient and family.

This citation made me reflect about illness in the new light. It grounded my thoughts about the reality of acute and chronic illness and what kind of impact each has on the sick person. As much as acute illness may or may not have an effect on changing someones lifestyle and self perception and own health, the chronic illness no matter how person is trying to change the lifestyle toward the "healthier", one has the consciousness that it will not make him/her healthy anymore. I am thinking of type 2 diabetes mainly. People still need to change and adjust they lifestyle in order to control and manage the sickness, however they have in mind that there is no cure for diabetes.

This is very true when it comes to sensitive topics, such as sexual behavior in this research. Statistics are very important, but in depth interviews or personal “confession” are most valid to present a holistic case including social, economical, historical and all cultural aspects of researched topic. This will help to come to the best conclusion on how to address the present and possibly future issues.

Researches recognize how sensitive and personal topic of gender-based violence (GBV) is among the Swazi women and how highly stigmatize they are in broader cultural aspect. Therefore, participants express it in “lesser context” in order to escape “shame”. It is important for researchers to recognize those broader social and cultural responses toward GBV in order to properly categorize these incidents, otherwise the findings will have different outcome.

. I think it would be better to ask: “ Please, tell about the circumstances when the first sexual experience happened and how do you feel about it then and now?” This way it would give more background in social and cultural aspects. Also it should make the participating women to think harder in order to recall the personal filling at the time of incident and compare it to a present day self examination.