Culture-Bound Syndromes: Nervios

The way individuals interpret and express their emotions is influenced by culture. Nervios is a term used within Latino cultures to describe emotional responses to stressful life events. It is important to recognize that the meaning of the term nervios varies across Latino subcultures (e.g., Puerto Rican, Mexican, South American) and is influenced by each individual's unique cultural experience. However, this contribution summarizes some of the most consistent characteristics of nervios.

Nervios is loosely translated as describing someone who is vulnerable to stress and experiences intense emotional reactions to life stressors. For example, nervios may describe someone who worries excessively over daily events because he or she is unable to solve everyday problems. Nervios usually begins in childhood. Common cultural beliefs about the causes of nervios ...