Investigation of the relationship between disability, internalized stigma, and spiritual recovery in bipolar patients

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Bipolar disorder; is a chronic mental illness with exacerbations that causes high morbidity, disability and internalized stigmatization of the patient. This study aimed to examine the relationship between disability, internalized stigma and mental recovery in bipolar disorder patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted with 103 patients who had bipolar disorder in remission period who applied to Bolu and Sakarya Community Mental Health Center between November 2021 and November 2022 were included in the study. Data was collected using The Personal Information Form, the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ), the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI), and the Recovery Process Inventory (RPI). Independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis and Cronbach's alpha value were used to analyze the data. FINDINGS:In the study, the mean score of BDQ was 7.13±4.91; The mean ISMI score was 74.89±11.30; the mean score of the RPI was found to be 65.74±12.67. While 33.0% of the participants did not have a disability, 25.2% had a mild disability, 30.1% had a moderate disability, and 11.7% had a severe disability. There was a significant positive correlation between the mean scores of the brief disability scale, the internalized stigma in mental illnesses, and the recovery process inventory. It was observed that the BDQ score and ISMI score influenced the recovery process inventory score. CONCLUSION: It can be said that patients with increased disability in bipolar disorder need more support from others, and when this support is provided, the recovery process is affected more positively, and the increase in internalized stigma causes a negative outlook on the recovery process. Keywords: Psychiatric Nursing, Stigma, Internalized Stigma, Disability, Recovery, Spiritual Healing