‘He was a brilliant student but became mad like his grandfather’: An exploratory investigation on the social perception and stigma against mental health patients in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, mental health issues constitute a substantial threat to the social, economic, and mental wellbeing of people and contribute significantly to many fatalities each year. In Bangladesh, people with mental health issues typically delay contacting health professionals because they rely on traditional or religious healers. Moreover, the situation is exacerbated by a lack of awareness, social stigma and negative perception from families and the community towards sufferers of mental health issues. Therefore, this paper investigates the social perception and stigmatisation of mental health patients and their caregivers in Khulna city of Bangladesh. Methods: Data were collected from university students who had concurring mental health issues and from their closest caregivers who had in-depth knowledge and willingness to take care for the patients. Following the criteria for data collection, eight (8) mental health patients and five (5) caregivers were purposively selected for this research. An unstructured in-depth interview guide was used for the confidential data collection process between November to December 2021, and each interview lasted for, on average, 40-50 minutes. Results: This study used thematic analysis to present the results, and the findings showed that: mental health patients seek both medical and spiritual support to recover. Mental health patients with positive family support improved quicker than those with the opposite. However, negative social perception and stigmatisation are the key impediments for mental health patients and their families to discuss their issues with relatives and communities to get support or to seek remedies. Moreover, the commonality of social stigmas, such as labelling mental health problems equal to ‘madness’, hinders disclosure to family members, peers, and the community.Conclusion and recommendations: In Bangladesh, the majority of mental health patients are stigmatized without receiving emotional support. Hence, we suggest nationwide community-based awareness-building programs to promote positive perceptions against mental-health disorders. Besides, counselling and awareness-building programs for effective prevention against non-scientific remedies, such as spiritual healing; and diagnosis at the primary stage of sickness and medication, are recommended for early detection and better medical assistance.