Stigmatization and Self-Perception regarding issues related to Mental Health: A qualitative survey from a lower and middle-income country

OBJECTIVE: To assess the understanding of the patients with common mental disorders, towards issues related to their mental health. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted from December 2018 to April 2020. Thirty-four patients, suffering from common mental disorders, were interviewed in public and private sector hospitals of Peshawar. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and themes were generated from their responses. Content analysis was carried out on the data obtained. The themes resulting from each interview were then further comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 31.9±10.61 years. Most of the patients (n=24, 70.6%) were aware that the nature of their illness was a psychological one with a majority (n=17, 50%) describing it with the symptoms of headache or burden on the head. Most of the patients (n=14, 41.1%) were unaware of the general public opinion towards mental disorders but those who were aware described these with stigmatizing descriptions e.g., “people call them crazy” etc. Most of the patients (n=20, 58.8%) were unaware about their own opinion regarding their illness and some said that they tried to conceal their illness from others. Unfortunately, most of the patients (n=19, 55.8%) were not aware of mental healthcare professionals or the existence of psychiatry as a profession. CONCLUSION: Stigma, both public and personal, was quite high, which caused patients to feel compelled to conceal their illness. There was also a general lack of knowledge with regard to mental disorders in our society. The general public opinion about mental health professionals was not favorable.