PECULIARITIES OF MENTAL DISORDERS IN UKRAINE: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CURRENT STATE

(LITERATURE REVIEW)

Abstract

Stigma acts as one of the most important factors in reducing the quality of life of people with mental disorders and their families, as well as as a barrier to the development of mental health care programs. The purpose of the study was to study the factors that led to the stigmatization of people with mental disorders in the historical context, as well as the peculiarities of stigmatization in Ukraine.

In ancient Greece and Rome, this category of persons was treated as sick; in the Middle Ages many people with mental disorders were victims of the Inquisition. In the 20th century two completely opposite approaches to mental illnesses were formed: the approach of Sigmund Freud and his followers, who used pathological phenomena to study the laws of functioning of a conditionally normal psychics; and the approach of totalitarian states, such as Nazi Germany, in which sterilization and euthanasia were applied to mentally ill people. Nowadays, the state of the problem of treatment of mental patients can be assessed as a search for the “golden mean”. Today, stigma manifests itself mainly in the form of social disapproval, which is often accompanied by perceived fear and discrimination.

In Ukraine, stereotypes mostly include the perception of mentally ill people as aggressive and intellectually underdeveloped; among prejudices – insufficient support of the patients’ families from medical and social workers, as well as relevant state institutions; the actual stigma is associated with the inability of other citizens who are in contact with the patients or doctors of other specialties, some relatives to understand the special needs of mentally ill patients. The analysis of the legislative framework of Ukraine shows unfavorable trends in this area, such as increasing the duration of work experience from 5 to 15 years in order to receive a disability pension. On the other hand, Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Principles of Prevention and Counteraction of Discrimination in Ukraine”, which prohibits restrictions on the rights and freedoms of individuals “on the basis of race, skin color, .. disability, ethnic and social origin, . . .  which were, are and may be real or assumed”.

Thus, further studies of the prevalence of stigmatization and discrimination of people with diagnosed mental disorders in Ukraine are needed, which will allow better prevention and elimination of this phenomenon.