| Abstract [eng] |
Schizophrenia is the most stigmatizing mental disorder, and people with schizophrenia are the most vulnerable group to experience social and self-stigma. The aim of this study is to analyze the experience of stigmatization in individuals with paranoid schizophrenia and their impact on their well-being. The study included 4 people with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia: two men and two women with an average age of 40 years. All study participants were selected through a targeted selection procedure from a single medium-sized city primary health care center. The study conducted a semi-structured interview based on the photographic method, and the obtained data were analyzed by inductive thematic analysis. The results revealed six main areas related to the experience of stigmatization and answered the question “What does it mean to be different?”: 1) “It’s too much for me”: experiencing schizophrenia; 2) Feel the disruptive attitude of others; 3) Feeling incomprehensible: "Like talking to others on a broken phone"; 4) Constantly hit the "closed door" in life; 5) Understand that “something is wrong with me”; 6) Discover sources of strength. Analysis of the results showed that the stigmatization experience of individuals with paranoid schizophrenia includes: societal stigma, where negative societal attitudes (stereotypes) and discriminatory behavior at the individual and structural levels are felt; self-stigma, where subjects internalized societal stereotypes into their identities and this affected their self-esteem; protective factors that contribute in the context of stigma and mental illness in general. |
