Myths & Misconceptions of Mental Illness and Health Seeking Behaviour of Adults

Corresponding author: Prabhjot Saini, Professor, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, DMCH College of Nursing, DMC & Hospital, Ludhiana., Punjab, India. Email: [email protected] This article may be cited as:Kaur S , Thapar K,Saini P,Kaur H , Kaur J. Myths & Misconceptions of Mental Illness and Health Seeking Behaviour of Adults..Int J Com Health and Med Res 2016;2(3):3-9 Article Received: 02-06-16 Accepted On: 01-07-2016 NTRODUCTION Mental illness is an age-old problem of mankind as recorded in the literature of the oldest civilizations. The public view towards mental illness has been considered as negative, stigmatized, uninformed and fearful entity right from the ancient time till date which varies according to age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, tradition and education of the different community. 1 Mental and behavioural disorders account for approximately 7.4 percent of the global burden of disease and represent the leading cause of disability worldwide. 2 The prevalence of mental disorders in India ranges from 100 to 370 per 1000 population in different parts of the country. 3 According to department of health and family welfare census report (2001), 1.7% of the Punjab’s population is suffering from mental illness. 4 Mental illness is the term used to describe a broad range of mental and emotional conditions. Mental illness unlike chronic physical illness is associated with myths & misconceptions. It leads to the formation of wide spread negative attitude towards mentally ill among public. Hence, stigma and discrimination are the main obstacles faced by mentally ill patients. 5 The consequences of stigma associated with mental illness have attracted the negative ratings among the public. The public express that the people with mental I Original Article Background: Mental illness is associated with myths & misconceptions which lead to the formation of wide spread negative attitude towards mentally ill among public. It further initiates stigma and discrimination and prevents them from seeking appropriate health behaviour. Therefore this study was conducted with an objective to assess myths and misconceptions of mental illness and health seeking behavior among adults. Methods: A Descriptive study was undertaken on 100 healthy adults residing in selected area of Ludhiana city selected by Convenience sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was used to assess myths & misconceptions of mental illness and health seeking behaviour towards mental illness. Data was collected by self report method. Results: 100% subjects carried some or the other myths and misconceptions regarding mental illness where 16% subjects had high level of myths and misconceptions. Majority of the adults believed that psychiatric problems are increased in people who have lot of tensions and who are sad and unhappy most of the time. Regarding, health-seeking behaviour of people, it was revealed that 39% of people said that they would prefer going to a psychiatrist and 28% would prefer to get patient admitted in mental hospital. Conclusion: Most of people carried lot of myths & misconceptions regarding mental illness, therefore awareness camps need to be organized for public to impart adequate knowledge regarding mental