Stigma, Isolation, and Recovery: Exploring the Social Dimensions of Life inside Mental Asylums
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29070/fxgdw392Keywords:
Stigma, Isolation, Recovery, Psychiatry, Mental Asylums, Social DimensionsAbstract
In spite of the fact that there is a growing trend toward deinstitutionalization on a worldwide scale, mental asylums continue to be an essential component of psychiatric care in a variety of settings. The purpose of this study is to investigate the social elements of living in mental asylums, with a particular focus on stigma, isolation, and perceptions of rehabilitation among patients, caregivers, staff, and the general population. An observational study that was quantitative and cross-sectional was carried out with a total of two hundred participants. The effects of stigma, isolation, and recovery were evaluated using standardized scales, and the data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc comparisons. Despite the fact that patients and the general population had significantly higher scores for stigma and isolation, the results showed that workers had the most positive views toward rehabilitation. These findings highlight the disparity between the experiences that patients have really lived through and the perceptions that healthcare practitioners have, highlighting the vital demand for mental changes that are focused on rehabilitation and with the goal of decreasing stigma.
References
Ahad, A. A., Sanchez-Gonzalez, M., & Junquera, P. (2023). Understanding and addressing mental health stigma across cultures for improving psychiatric care: A narrative review. Cureus, 15(5).
Argyriadis, A., & Argyriadi, A. (2024). Societal attitudes towards psychiatric patients, medication, and the antipsychiatric movement within the context of theoretical approaches and inclusion initiatives. The role of mental health professionals. GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 18(2), 381–387.
Banerjee, D., Rabheru, K., Ivbijaro, G., & De Mendonca Lima, C. A. (2021). Dignity of older persons with mental health conditions: Why should clinicians care? Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12.
Chakrabarti, S. (2024). Digital psychiatry in low-and-middle-income countries: New developments and the way forward. World Journal of Psychiatry, 14(3), 350–361.
Dalky, H. F., Janet, M. C., Natour, A. S., & Qandil, A. M. (2016). Quality of life, stigma and burden perception among family caregivers and patients with psychiatric illnesses in Jordan. Community Mental Health Journal, 53(3), 266–274.
Dar, S. A., Khurshid, S. Q., Wani, Z. A., Khanam, A., Haq, I., Shah, N. N., Shahnawaz, M., & Mustafa, H. (2020). Stigma in coronavirus disease-19 survivors in Kashmir, India: A cross-sectional exploratory study. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0240152.
Deering, K., Williams, J., Bermingham, I., Wagstaff, C., & Pawson, C. (2023). Ontological insecurity of inattentiveness: Conceptualizing how risk management practices impact on patient recovery when admitted to an acute psychiatric hospital. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(2), 420–430.
Gaiha, S., et al. (2020). Public stigma and mental health among youth in India: A systematic review of observational studies. Journal of Mental Health Research, 29(4), 245–260.
Gyamfi, S., Booth, R., Forchuk, C., & Luginaah, I. (2024). Enablers of mental illness stigma: A scoping review of individual perceptions. Mental Illness, 2024, 1–23.
Handerer, F., Tai, S. J., Kinderman, P., & Timmermann, C. (2020). How did mental health become so biomedical? The progressive erosion of social determinants in historical psychiatric admission registers. History of Psychiatry, 32(1), 37–51.
Howell, A., & Voronka, J. (2012). Introduction: The politics of resilience and recovery in mental health care. Studies in Social Justice, 6(1), 1–7.
Jaspal, R., & Breakwell, G. M. (2020). Socio-economic inequalities in social network, loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 68(1), 155–165.
Law, S., Plett, D., Rozmovits, L., Babinski, S., Ormel, I., Dionne, E., & Schwartz, H. (2021). Dread and solace: Talking about perinatal mental health. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30(S1), 1376–1385.
Lloyd, C. E. M., Cathcart, J., Reid, G., & Panagopoulos, M. C. (2024). The experiences of faith and church community among Christian adults with mental illness: A qualitative metasynthesis. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 16(4), 352–366.
Mallik, R. (2025). An important obstacle to mental health wellness and assistance seeking behavior in India is the pervasive stigma associated with mental health issues. Indian Journal of Mental Health Policy Review, 12(1), 45–62.
Meghrajani, V. R., Marathe, M., Sharma, R., Potdukhe, A., Wanjari, M. B., & Taksande, A. B. (2023). A comprehensive analysis of mental health problems in India and the role of mental asylums. Cureus, 15(7).
Parsons, A. E. (2018). From Asylum to Prison. University of North Carolina.
Patricia, A., et al. (2024). The mediating and moderating role of internalised stigma in the relationship between personal recovery and symptomatology among individuals with severe mental disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 156(2), 112–123.
Sayed, A., et al. (2021). Causes and consequences of stigma among mental illness sufferers: A cross-sectional study. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 62, 102–110.
Subu, M. A., Wati, D. F., Al-Yateem, N., Netrida, N., Priscilla, V., Maria Dias, J., Slewa-Younan, S., & Edwin Nurdin, A. (2021). ‘Family stigma’ among family members of people with mental illness in Indonesia: A grounded theory approach. International Journal of Mental Health, 52(2), 102–123.
Tan, K. J., & Anderson, J. R. (2024). Internalized sexual stigma and mental health outcomes for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Asian Americans: The moderating role of guilt and shame. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 384.
Varghese, M., Kirpekar, V., & Loganathan, S. (2020). Family interventions: Basic principles and techniques. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(Suppl 2), 192.
Varma, S. (2016). Disappearing the asylum: Modernizing psychiatry and generating manpower in India. Transcultural Psychiatry, 53(6), 783–803.
This work is licensed under a 