A Vicious Circle of Hope and Despair: Stigma Experienced by Relatives of Persons with Severe Mental Illness

Abstract

Not only people suffering from severe mental illness (SMI) but also their family members experience stigma. Relatives are met with negative attitudes from healthcare professionals, which adds to the problem. This Swedish study employed a qualitative inductive explorative design in the analysis of written free-text responses from 65 persons who completed a questionnaire for relatives of persons with SMI. The overarching theme, “A vicious circle of hope and despair”, was elaborated by four categories which formed a vicious circle: “Wanting openness, understanding and acknowledgement”; “Facing a lack of understanding from others”; “Seeking understanding from mental healthcare professionals but experiencing the opposite”; and “Keeping family experiences private.” If this vicious circle of family stigma is to be broken, measures are needed for both relatives and health care professionals.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants who willingly shared their experiences.

Authors’ contributions

All listed authors are entitled to authorship, meet the criteria for authorship and have approved the final article.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Ethical considerations

The study was approved by the Regional Research Committee in Gothenburg, No. T112-18, ad 151-17.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, grant number 2014-4510 and the Swedish state under an agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils concerning economic support of research (ALF). This study was also supported by the Skaraborg Institute for Research and Development.