The World Health Organization announced that about one billion people around the world suffer from mental disorders, while various sources stated that the search for mental health in the Arab world on the Google search has increased significantly in the last five years.

How can the high numbers of people looking for psychologists and the promotion of mental health be explained in Egypt and the Arab world?

Does this mean that reviewing the psychologist is no longer a culture of defect?

A quarter of Egyptians suffer psychologically

First of all, the Egyptian Ministry of Health announced the results of the National Mental Health Survey that it completed in 2018, and it found that one in 4 people has a psychological symptom or disorder, meaning that 25% of Egyptians suffer from psychological symptoms and disorders, according to a report published by the Egyptian seventh day website, Mood disorders, "specifically depression", are the most prevalent among Egyptians, at a rate of nearly 44%, followed by drug use disorders, at a rate of more than 30%.

Egypt ... first in the Arab world in the number of suicides

The World Health Organization report also revealed, according to France 24, that suicides are widespread in the Arab world, and psychologists and sociologists attribute 90% of suicides to one of the most important mental illnesses, which is depression.

In 2016, according to the report carried by France 24, Egypt surpassed the countries experiencing armed conflicts and wars by recording 3799 suicides, followed by Sudan with 3205, then Yemen with 2335, while Algeria ranked fourth, registering 1299 suicides, and the fifth Arab countries, Iraq, with 1128.

Syria, Yemen and the impact of the war

In countries where wars have erupted, such as Syria and Yemen, the numbers take a frightening curve;

Human rights reports revealed that about three-quarters of the Syrian refugees suffer from severe psychological symptoms, according to the British newspaper, The Guardian.

The Foundation for Family Development and Counseling in Yemen estimated the number of Yemenis suffering from mental disorders at about 5.5 million, 80% of whom are young people over the age of 16 to 30 years.

Political and economic fluctuations

Consultant psychiatrist, Adel Atwa was not surprised by the increasing number of people looking for information on the psychological side.

Emphasizing that what Egypt and most of the countries of the Arab world are going through in terms of distinguishing events such as wars, repression and economic fluctuations, many layers of society have trampled in their path.

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Atwa pointed out that Egypt has witnessed economic, political and social fluctuations in recent years that have not been witnessed by whole generations, fluctuations that made one of the factions - for example - move from the prison of its leaders to the top of power and then return to prisons again, and all of that. In less than 3 years.

Do you imagine what happened to the members and supporters of this faction ?!

Atwa asked, noting that it is impossible for many of them to escape from depression or other mental illnesses, and the same is true for those who used to live a comfortable or well-to-do life.

The escalation of psychological pressure due to fear, anxiety, inequality, lack of security, and loss of personal and community safety (Shutterstock)

Suspicious personalities

On the other hand, the cognitive and behavioral treatment of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Dr. Rasmia Ali Fahmy, believed that the escalation of psychological pressure was the result of widespread feelings of fear and anxiety, inequality, insecurity, loss of personal and community security and the absence of an example.

She explained in a previous interview - to Al-Jazeera Net - that as a result of these pressures, the body resorts to defensive tricks to overcome them, such as depression and isolation, anxiety and the consequent obsessive-compulsive disorder, and that the surrounding circumstances have also produced what it called "avoiding personalities" who suffer excessive fear, and suspicious figures who misunderstand and cause pain. In its surroundings.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, the results of the National Mental Health Survey that it completed in 2018 showed that 25% of Egyptians suffer from mental disorders (Shutterstock)

The stigma of mental illness

Specialist psychiatry and addiction treatment Dr. Samir Abdel-Wahab touched on an important point, which is the change in the Egyptian and Arab citizens ’perception in general towards considering mental illness as a stigma that should be hidden from those around him.

Abdel-Wahab assured - to Al-Jazeera Net - that he sensed a different matter than it was years ago, as he used to hear his patients sometimes talking even to their wives while they were in his clinic or the hospital in which he worked, without revealing their whereabouts and perhaps lying and saying that they were on a "job" or with Friend.

Abdel-Wahab attributed this credit to social networking sites, as he saw that it was a platform that set aside vast spaces to speak freely and without fear, and encouraged its visitors to express in light of the state of appreciation that appeared on the groups "sunset" specialized in this regard.

Social distancing for health protection from the kurna virus has contributed to the increase in mental disorders due to loneliness and isolation (Shutterstock)

Corona and social media

Dr. Samir Abdel-Wahab explained that the cases of social distancing imposed by the health prevention measures against the Corona virus contributed to the increase in mental disorders in light of isolation and perhaps loneliness, but the presence of social networking sites greatly reduced the impact of the imposed isolation.

On the other hand, clear differences appeared in the responses of Egyptian citizens who polled Al-Jazeera Net their views on the phenomenon, between those who believed that this percentage may be less than the truth, and others believed that these statistics are inaccurate and may carry a psychological war against Egyptians and Arabs in general.

Supporters of the first opinion argue that what Egypt has gone through since the January 2011 revolution until now is sufficient to afflict at least 3 quarters of the Egyptian people with mental illnesses and perhaps insanity to the point that Bilal Ziyad - a student at Ain Shams University - said that he is certain that he is crazy, otherwise he will not Realize what is happening around him, in terms of prices that change almost every day, homes that are demolished and their inhabitants become homeless in a moment.