Experts Warn of Mental Illness Spread in Arab World Due to Economic and Social Conditions

Experts and specialists in psychiatry, speaking to the “Mawazine” program, warned of the spread of mental illnesses in the Arab world as a result of economic and social conditions, and called for attention to the mental health of individuals and research and studies related to this field.

Scientific studies issued by international and local organizations revealed a clear penetration of mental illness in the Arab world, especially in recent years. These studies attributed the reason for this situation to wars and the decline of economies, which was confirmed by the professor of sociology at the Tunisian University, Al-Mahdi Mabrouk, by saying that the Arab individual He became vulnerable to psychological fragility as a result of the conditions in the Arab world, especially the economic and social conditions.

Mabrouk limited the causes of the spread of mental disorders in Arab countries to 4 points: the psychological and social effects left by the Corona epidemic and the difficult living conditions, including high prices and unemployment, and the political conditions that led to the shrinking of freedoms, and the setback that surrounded the Arab Spring revolutions.

As for the fourth point that causes the spread of mental illnesses, it is related to the failure in the methods of education and socialization, as families generate an arsenal of pressure methods that do not allow dialogue and psychological support during crises.

The guest of episode (5/17/2023) of the “Mawazine” program refused to link wealth and happiness with poverty and misery, as a person can feel anxiety, loneliness and frustration despite his huge wealth, and the evidence for this is that stars in the seventh art and in football had a sad end and did not enjoy With happiness, an example of this is Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood star who did not feel happy despite her extraordinary beauty and wealth.

The psychological and moral immunity (values) of a person with the provision of minimum needs can give him a suitable ground for feeling happy, as it may be in taking care of an orphan child.

For his part, consultant psychiatrist Adel Al-Zayed stressed that societies that enjoy prosperity are not isolated from mental illness, and he gave an example of that in Sweden, where suicide rates are high, despite the welfare provided by the state to individuals.

The head of the Association for Psychological Sciences in Jordan, Atef Al-Qassem, saw in his intervention within the “Mawazine” program that Arab psychological studies do not parallel Western psychological studies, neither in terms of quantity nor in terms of type. There are no specialized scientific study centers and there is no support for scientific research, despite the presence of researchers. in the field of psychiatry.

On the other hand, Professor Mabrouk – who is also the former Tunisian Minister of Culture – warned that excessive addiction to technology – especially on social networking sites – falls within the circle of mental illnesses, as this technology plays a very important role in the spread of anxiety, tension, frustration and introversion, which May lead to psychological and mental illness.

Regarding the reality of mental health studies in the Arab world, Dr. Al-Zayed – who is also the director of the Addiction Treatment Center in Kuwait – regrets the low scientific reality in Arab societies, which was reflected in the level of research and studies, indicating that what is spent on education is directed to form and not to Content, that is, to the buildings, services and features that the student gets.

And the professor of sociology at the Tunisian University adds that despite the spread of diseases and mental disorders, what is published in the Arab world regarding mental health is very little, and in Tunisia it does not exceed the number of fingers, and public health budgets are declining from year to year in Tunisia, Algeria and other North African countries, and another The departments that are launched in hospitals are the departments of psychiatry.

The Tunisian professor said that in return for the severe lack of scientific production on psychological peace, there is a demand from the Arabs for what is called “human development”, yoga clinics and others.

And on ways to protect the Arab individual himself from stress and mental illness, the psychiatric consultant pointed out the importance of self-exercise on how to deal with reality and the changes that occur in it, and trust in God Almighty, who is in the power of the matter.