A struggle to wade through stigmatization of mental illness

In the last article, Hadiqa fought depression, OCD and anxiety disorder but this was not her only battle. In order to cope with her depression she had to fight all the negativity coming from her friends, relatives and society.

The stigma attached to mental illness in our society is often one of the biggest challenges for a person suffering from mental illness. It does not only isolate person from everyone but also deteriorate their recovery process. Hadiqa tells us more about it.

I didn’t want my friends to know about my condition because their disapproval to my condition used to further add to my misery. But sometimes when I had a panic attack or I feel extremely low it became difficult to hide my condition. I did not know how to act in such a situation because I did not want anyone to label me ‘attention seeker’, that’s what people commonly label a person who behaves differently.

A sudden rush of panic and stress is never just to gain attention but people do not understand. Nothing is worse than blaming a person for their condition because that’s what used to trigger more negativity and insecurity in me.

My extended family members also used to say nonsensical things which really hurt me. They used to think I was under some kind of magical influence or worse Jinn. I hated when people used to tell my parents to take me to various shrines and recite as much duas as they can for me. This affected my recovery badly during the first few years after diagnosis.

Sixty-two per cent of Pakistanis live in rural areas, and the majority of them lack exposure and education. People do not have enough awareness about mental health. They do not consider that mind can also fell ill just like the body. Shaykh Azher Naseer, a religious scholar summed this up very nicely in one of his tweets:

“Don’t ever tell a depressed person to treat their depression solely reciting Quran. When someone breaks their leg you don not tell them to just read Quran without seeing a doctor. Why do we do this to those who are depressed in our communities?”

Poverty is also one of the reasons which hold people from getting treatment for mental illness. For them it’s a luxury to visit a psychologist when apparently you look all good. Hundreds of mentally ill individuals from impoverished families spend every season of their life here, chained to trees and waiting for a cure.

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For Hadiqa, the most hurtful thing was when people used to tell her, “You look healthy there is nothing wrong with you. You are just overly sensitive about things.” Hadiqa emphasized, “This is a huge misconception that people with mental illness exaggerate their problem. They often try to hide their problem and suffer alone because of the society’s negative response and this is what exaggerates their problem.”

I am still fighting but it is a time now that I have developed a hard core personality and I can completely ignore the comments of people. But for each and every person out their suffering from mental illness I urge them to speak about it and seek treatment because help is out there even in highly congested society.