"TODAY, I HAVE A REASON TO LIVE": EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN MDD SURVIVORS

Abstract

Depression is estimated to be the leading cause of disease by 2030 and is already the leading cause in women worldwide. In Malaysia, nearly 2.3 million people have experienced depression at least once, yet this problem has not been thoroughly investigated and addressed. Hence, a study exploring the lived experience of the survivors needs to be investigated. This study focused on the women Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) survivors to understand their journey of recovery. Survivors or also called ‘People with Lived Experienced’ have a range of first-hand experiences with treatment and recovery, making them an expert by experience. Four women with MDD were selected by using purposive sampling, and in-depth interviews were conducted before analyzing using thematic analysis. This qualitative study has found four major themes with fifteen subordinate themes: survivor’s efforts, challenges, social support and hopes. Then, the findings of this study were integrated with CHIME framework known as the guiding philosophy of recovery for mental illness patients. These findings contributed to a better understanding of the recovery process and supports needed for MDD patients to recover. In addition, this study also proved that patients with MDD could recover. Therefore, it breaks the social stigma that is still prevalent in the community. Based on these first-hand experiences shared by the survivors, it is hoped that the present interventions conducted by related organizations and caregivers can yield improvements so that the current patients who are still struggling with MDD can recover faster holistically. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 24 (7) July, 2023; 1-11