Shaming and exorbitant costs stop Kuwaitis from reaching psychiatric help · Global Voices
This article was first published on January 26, 2022 on Raseef22. An edited version is published under a republishing agreement.
To this day, and despite the piling stresses of the everyday life exacerbated by a pandemic that has affected billions around the world, visiting a psychiatrist remains widely unacceptable in the Arab world, especially among people of the Arabian Gulf, where rigid customs, traditions and beliefs continue to shape the choices of many.
<PERSON>, a Kuwaiti woman in her forties, has been suffering from panic attacks before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed emotional, psychological and mental strain on millions around the world. When she ran out of solutions, she resorted to visiting a psychiatrist, but was unable to continue her treatment as the prices of psychological counseling and treatment became unaffordable for her.
In Kuwait, the cost of one consultation starts at KWD 100 (USD 330) per hour and reaches up to KWD 200 (USD 660), sometimes even more.
This in itself is a critical factor that causes those in need of a therapist to give up on the idea. But another factor also plays an equally important role: the societal shaming that accompanies such a step, which causes many to end up fighting their own battles without professional help.
As a result, acts of violence became part of the daily news, especially in the early days of the COVID-19 imposed lockdowns. These incidents of violence, including a wife who killed her husband by smashing his head with a hammer, and numerous instances among young people that led to death in many cases, continue to this day, albeit to a lesser extent.
Children and adolescents have also been greatly affected. At least one in seven children and young people across the world has lived under stay-at-home policies that were imposed or recommended by their government, which “put their mental health and well-being at risk,” according to a report by UNICEF. “Many children are left feeling afraid, lonely, anxious, and concerned for their future,” an effect that will last for years, according to UNICEF Executive Director <PERSON>.
The recent string of racist statements, incidents of violence, and killings are clear evidence of the serious social crises that are a byproduct of the pandemic.
Increasing fear and tension
During the pandemic, writer <PERSON> experienced bouts of anxiety. She tells <PERSON> she felt like she had symptoms similar to those of the virus, so she sought treatment and ended up getting behavioral therapy without drugs. 90
However, she recounts how the problem persisted until she took the vaccine and her mentality began to improve, “as if the effect of the vaccine was also psychological, instead of just physical.” She also spoke of the importance that a person be aware that psychological conditions are normal and that any person may go through them and be okay, as long as they are recognized and treated.
Meanwhile, <PERSON> (pseudonym), a university doctor, says that she fell into depression in the midst of the pandemic. She tells <PERSON> that, at first, the lockdown was an opportunity to learn new skills such as cooking and enjoy her time with the family. However, she soon started to feel like she was being deprived of the things she loves, such as work and travel, which triggered dark thoughts that greatly and negatively affected her mental state.
So <PERSON> turned to a life coach. “It greatly helped me in changing the way I think. I also invested my time in writing, which helped me overcome my depression that had lasted for an entire year.”
<PERSON>, a Kuwaiti middle school teacher in his mid-thirties and father of three, went through a similar experience. His mental health began to deteriorate with the start of the quarantine period, and worsened with the death of his father. “Being a man, I had to bear the responsibility of the family without showing any weakness, which increased the pain I was experiencing. I stayed in this spiral for months, suffering from unprovoked fits of rage, until I found an online advertisement for an organization that offers psychological counseling at reasonable prices, and indeed this experience has changed me for the better. After committing to the sessions for a year, my mental state has greatly improved,” he says.
<PERSON>, a specialist in rapid transformational therapy, notes that “during the Coronavirus pandemic, there was an increase in mental health problems, most notably depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders, as unprecedented conditions led to high levels of fear and tension in Kuwaiti society and the world.”
She tells <PERSON>:
As humans, we have emotional needs, including the need to communicate with others and having a sense of safety. 820