Madeleine Mezagopian

Today, the world celebrates World Mental Health Day, a day dedicated for mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma.

In the Arab world, this day should be renamed “World Mental Health and the Culture of Shame Day”

Tt is very rampant phenomenon in the Arab world for the persons to refrain from recognizing and acknowledging persons’ mental health deterioration or a specific mental ailment given it is being connected to insanity thus defaming the reputation of the person and of the family. Hence, the connectivity between mental health and social stigma is very much present in the Arab word.

The outcome is mental health challenges remaining unattended with inevitable deterioration of persons’ mental health.

The worst repercussions of indifference to persons’ mental health emerge through not having persons’ mental health situation within the qualifications of all types of professions i.e. a teacher, a doctor, taxi driver, a trainer, inter alia, leading to huge sufferings of victims, foremost among the youth, of different professions.

Last but surely not least, complete indifference to the mental health of to be a partner in life, the mental health of to be a mother and to be a father resulting in painful family situation, family tragedies and family breakdowns.

Hence, it is of great urgency for the concerned in the Arab world to dedicate today towards addressing the issues pertinent to the mental health and to the culture of shame simultaneously, spreading awareness and issue realistic and appropriate recommendations of socio-mental health benefits. In addition, it is equally important and urgent for the concerned to carry out campaigns targeting all the concerned to have the costs of approaching the relevant medical experts feasible and within the living standard of the relevant society members.