Social stigma of people who suffer from mental illness

Author(s): Soraya Serhan

 Our study focuses on the stigmatization of people who suffer from mental illness in the Arab societies more specifically in the Lebanese society. After defining the main keywords of our study (mental disorder, mental illness, stigma, shame and madness), we mention previous studies which deal with the same topic. Our descriptive study analyzes the opinions of several groups of pedestrians chosen in the streets of Lebanon. Their opinions allowed us, following the questionnaire that was submitted to them, to find that more than the majority of our population considers mental illness and psychotherapeutic work as taboo in our Lebanese society. However, it should be noted that there is a large part of the chosen population who would like to have more information on this subject. Studying the effects of stigma is the first step towards a better future.

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