8
Salma: Good Morning
Hazem: Good Morning Salma
Salma: Okey so Hazem, you know this interview is about mental health and how it is regarded and dealt with here in Egypt; you are currently a psychology student, right? Can i ask what got you interested in this field in the first place?
Hazem: A few years ago i was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety, and i couldn’t understand my feelings, so I decided to study and educate myself about mental health. I ended up finding it really interesting especially since our culture consider it as some sort of taboo which of course makes no sense.
Salma: very true, what do you think are some common disorders that might be common among university students in Egypt?
Hazem: some common issues would surely include depression, general anxiety, social anxiety and panic disorder. Of course studies shows that many cases do not get diagnosed at all because they and people around them are not usually aware of the symptoms or taught to seek help when facing these symptoms but generally yes, these are the most common.
Salma: what about cat phobias, we have so many cats in the egyptian street, we usually make fun of people when they scream from cats. How serious can that issue actually be?