Greek women and broken nerves in Montreal

In this paper, I examine the importance of class, ethnicity and gender in the causation and meaning of somatization for Greek women in Montreal. I argue that nevra--a form of psychosocial distress experienced by many of the women--is a phenomenon of the poor working conditions, low wages and gender relations in the Greek community. Data is based on interviews with 100 Greek families in Montreal and 45 patients in two different clinical settings. Comparing results with material on nervios and nerves from Latin America and the United States, I concur with Low (1985) that nerves should be viewed as a 'culturally-interpreted symptom' rather than a 'culture bound syndrome'. It is further suggested that the importance of social and material conditions and gender relations in mediating the cultural interpretation must be stressed. Failure to do so often results in the medicalization of nevra and the creation of a chronic sick role for the patient.