App seeks to alleviate mental health struggles

AMMAN — Twenty-one-year-old Suzan was hospitalised earlier this year due to an ongoing mental health condition, and has had to drop out of college until her doctors deem her ready to return to her normal life.  

“If you break your arm, people get you flowers, but if you say you have depression, no one takes you seriously,” Suzan, whose name was changed for privacy reasons, told The Jordan Times about her struggles with mental health.

“Before my first suicide attempt and my subsequent admission into hospital, I missed a lot of classes, and my professors did not accept mental-health issues as medical pardons. They did not see missing an exam due to a nervous breakdown as serious as missing it because you broke an arm or something of that sort,” she told The Jordan Times.

Suzan is not the only one struggling with people's lack of understanding of her mental health issues. According to the World Health Organisation, Jordan was described as “a country in need of intense support for strengthening the mental health system”.

Ahmad, a 24-year-old speaking under a pseudonym, said that he could not complete his university studies in London because of his struggle with chronic depression, bipolar personality disorder and compulsive obsessive disorder.

Ahmad said that when he “begged” his family to bring him back to Jordan to be with his family, his father called him “a disappointment” and told him he “needs to man up”.

He told The Jordan Times: “I understand that mental health is not an issue normally brought up in our society, and therefore it is not recognised as a serious illness, but I do wish that those closest to us would be more educated on the issue.”

To help themselves and others around them, several youth took matters into their own hands. Mindchat, an app created by University of Jordan students, links those with mental health issues with a therapist online, without the need for a physical visit.

Sara Olayan, one of the creators of the app, said that “high prices, as well as the fear of social stigma” are among the most common issues that youth face when visiting a therapist.

The app, which offers video and audio or audio-only sessions costing JD35 or less (instead of the standard JD50), tackles these two problems.

Reem, whose name has been changed for privacy, said that such an app is a “life-saver”.

She added: “Therapy sessions are expensive, so I used to save up for them from my allowance, but it was a huge problem every time I went because I had to make up an excuse for my parents as to where I was. The lying worsened my mental health even more, so I’m glad I can attend these therapy sessions from my room without the anxiety and stress of anyone finding out.”