“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all” – so what are the stigmas and biases that create mental restraints in the UAE? Why are they important? How should society as a whole deal with this issue?
The UAE has blossomed into a beautiful lively land; its barren deserts are now filled with towering skyscrapers, captivating architecture, world-class entertainment, and advanced medicine, yet some mindsets are unable to keep up with the progress. A blanket of ignorance towards some issues, such as mental health, still blinds some guardians of family members from seeking help at mental health institutes. Some might feel that seeking a psychiatrist’s help might weaken one’s family reputation, pride, and dignity, which are all attributes Emiratis strive to achieve and maintain. However, this should not be a priority over someone’s health. Protecting the praised attributes of one’s family should not be an excuse to disregard mental illnesses as insignificant.
What first occurs to the members of society when thinking of the mentally ill is the much-dramatized version of people who are significantly ‘crazy’, people who hysterically run around naked, for instance. To those members of society, a depressed girl is just an ‘attention seeker who sees the glass half empty’, a schizophrenic mother is just ‘overly hysteric’, and an anorexic child is just ‘trying to lose some weight’. These stigmatized and ignorant labels are what hinder our acceptance of mental illness as a legitimate issue. Since when is a mental health facility equivalent to a ‘madhouse’? Since when are doctors and witches alike? Mental illness is just like any other physical illness; it is a disorder in the brain, and just like any other illness, it deserves proper attention and treatment.
“It’s just a phase. All you need is some time off, maybe even a change of atmosphere. We cannot risk putting you in a mental health facility, what will people think about us as parents? What about our family’s name?” my friend’s parents told her. She was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and attempted suicide more than ten times. “She can take care of herself, she’s old enough to do so, besides, if we take her to a mental health facility, what will people say about us?” said my best friend’s uncles about her schizophrenic mother. Her young three children were physically and mentally traumatized by her actions and hallucinations for many years. “It’s not a big deal, she probably just wants to lose some weight” said a relative about her anorexic daughter whenever she rejected a meal. She had to spend two months debilitated on a hospital bed. All of these people were victims because their families were unaware that their relatives suffered from a mental illness, they did not know the hazards of leaving mental illness untreated and placed more importance on their reputation rather than their relative’s wellbeing.
Mental illness is posing a great threat as it is identified as one of the top five crucial health issues – alongside obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer – that need to be addressed in the UAE. While there is not much data on mental health statistics for the UAE, there are some numbers on depression rate which prove the issue of the mentally ill not seeking treatment. According to Dr. Talat Mattar1, consultant psychiatrist at the Ministry of health, about four to five percent of the Emirati population suffers from clinical depression. The World Health Organization2 claimed that fewer than twenty-five percent of the cases receive the proper required treatment and that the UAE has the highest depression rate in the local region3. Conclusively, only one out of four people who are suffering from clinical depression are given proper treatment, even though an article in the National points out that Emiratis have “full access to mental-health care” and that it’s “available for free at more than 50 public and private locations” under the health insurer Daman4. The amount of people suffering from psychological disorders is continuously on the rise, whereas the number of people receiving proper medication is dwindling. This should be an alarming wakeup call for immediate action to be taken.
Leaving mental illnesses untreated could lead to an increase in harmful outcomes including violence, homelessness, suicide, incarceration and — death. According to The National5, in the year 2012, 274 suicides were recorded across the country and the leading cause was leaving mental disorders untreated. This might come as a surprise to many of us, as gossip and the latest social-media news are more heavily discussed than important and relevant issues, like mental illness. The harmful results of leaving psychiatric disorders untreated immensely outweigh the importance we place on reputation and other high attributes within the community. Therefore, it is crucial for a mentally ill person to have access to proper medication, treatment, and coping mechanisms, and that cannot be established without the aid of family members who have the authority, more specifically, those able to take action.
Helping a depressed child could have stopped them from attempting suicide; treating a schizophrenic mother could have prevented an entire family from breaking apart; assisting an anorexic daughter could have saved her from a near-death experience. The progression of our society depends greatly on our people’s mental and physical well-being. We need to stop viewing mental and psychological disorders as nonexistent. It is time for us to adjust our perceptions, educate our children on this issue, and raise awareness among our adults about the significance of mental health. We should strive for a community where the unwell, be it physically or mentally, should not be ashamed to ask for help and ensure their family members’ support. That is how we can help our beloved country continue the progress it is making in the field of health, and finally move towards a target of mental tranquility.
P.S. If you’re facing any sort of mental health issue problems, please refer to this post for suggestions on how to get help.
References:
1 http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/health/more-than-4-of-uae-population-clinically-depressed-1.1091181
2 https://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/health-fitness/five-per-cent-of-uae-population-battling-depression
3 https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/depression-a-growing-problem-among-youngsters-uae-doctors-warn-1.2245
4 https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/wellbeing/mental-health-in-the-uae-limited-insurance-cover-is-huge-barrier-for-patients-1.219098
5 https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/increased-awareness-helping-to-turn-the-tide-1.238325
