Gender, emotion, and nervios in urban Guatemala

This study of nervios in a poor, resettled colonia (neighborhood) outside Guatemala City is part of an ongoing analysis of the cross‐cultural significance and meaning of nerves. In the Guatemalan context, nervios is treated by sufferers as an illness, rather than a symptom, and is associated with experiencing strong emotions, particularly anger (cólera, se enoja) and grief or sorrow (pena), and with problems related to reproduction and child rearing. It is generally treated with “nerve pills”; purchased at a local store or with home remedies. Nervios is predominantly reported by women, and the etiological explanations of emotion and childbearing problems suggest that at least part of the meaning of the Guatemalan version of nervios is linked to gender and gender‐based concerns. The Guatemala data on nervios provide an excellent opportunity to explore the relationships between gender, emotion, and illness.