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Stigma against mental disabilities- by Arabian Oud {R}

To my fellow readers !

Ever since I initiated my baby project on mental illnesses and abuses back in 2008, I have encountered countless stories and met so many people who shared their views about mental disabilities. Many of these people were afraid to come out of their closet and feel confident about themselves, they felt differently treated, this discrimination came down for the fact they were diagnosed with a mental illness. Up till I myself discovered the irony of how people can be cruel and harsh when you yourself end up being in the same pool of others who were pleading for a fair chance to be understood and not misinterpreted. When I first started blogging and writing about mental illnesses and abuses, I realized that we are living in a society which is dominated by men, created for men and by men that suits their needs, requirements and satisfies their mental and emotional needs. I was pretty much right till this day. So many years have passed by and I see that very limited awareness of mental illness has spread over the Middle East & Asia respectively with very little emotional and moral support is provided to those who are going through this distress and trauma. I felt there was so much stigma that only makes the sufferer with guilt to the point they reach to an extreme where they socially feel isolated and driven to a point they would rather put an end to their life. I find it rather sad and I can associate to so much of such emotions because you can only relate to that pain when you yourself have encountered it. Whilst people would regard and discard those with mental illnesses as 'nutcase, mental, freak, eccentric and insane'; very little people actually make an effort to help and even understand the fundamental roots of the pain. In an interesting article published in '7Days' a U.A.E based English daily newspaper back in 2012, it mentioned how mentally ill patients were abandoned by their families and they never came to pay them a visit at the hospital ward. What a pity right? I mean think about it, if for some reason one day you had an awful accident and ended up losing your memory or ended up with a mental illness due to some major accident or incident in your life, would that mean you are a lesser human than others? Honestly, when I refer to what Islam says about it, I feel angry seeing how our fellow Muslims are not in tandem with what Islam says. Every time I have experienced a needle poke into my vein and felt the ache of being spoken by someone who understands my concerns and sorrows I felt there were kind people out there who could understand, instead of simply offering sympathy and treating someone with pitiful eyes saying to you that you are worth sympathy only, there was more to you. Another key area is employment, people with mental disabilities have limited access and opportunities, in fact governments do not even widely cater for them; physically disabled people are more privileged as opposed to those who are mentally disabled. I encountered this discrimination back in the U.K where even declaring you are mentally ill is not a good idea after all. Where do you draw the line? Sometimes, I would feel my heart would burst and I should not disclose to anybody about my condition. Whilst, I fully understand this pain even of others around me who are going through a similar battle, I do not judge them and I feel they are as much important and do not lose their value when it comes to being loved. As a human being, regardless of whatever culture, religion or nationality or gender you belong to, nobody should have the right to make you feel a lesser person just because you are suffering from a mental illness. Yes I believe treatment is a must, whether it is herbal therapy or medications that help you feel better, but what about the environmental and societal support around us? How much of that are we receiving? Other than talking about female issues, what about mental illnesses and abuse which entails men and women. No form of abuse is justified and neither is mental illness. I have so much to write about but I feel not everybody will understand because it is different to read text on the Internet and very much different to experience it firsthand with somebody who has actually gone through that suffering and provide them unconditional support. Honestly, I stretch out my emotional and moral support to those who are depressed, schizophrenic, bipolar, borderline, M&S and so on, I know its not being easy to live a normal life and people will strand us because they cannot tolerate and bear understanding our pain, but remember there are people out like you. There is a community where you belong and there are people out there who love you unconditionally.
 
 
In my next blog I will discuss this issue in an elaborate manner..
 
 
Peace
 
 

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