Psychological Distress and Courtesy Stigma Among Family Caregivers of Individuals with Mental Illness in India: A Phenomenological Study

Background Providing care for people with mental illness is frequently difficult and requires a significant financial, emotional, and physical effort over extended periods of time. As they support their family members, carers can experience social shame and psychological hardship. This study aims to assess the psychological distress and perceived stigma. Methods A qualitative study using purposive maximum variation sampling was conducted at selected tertiary hospital. Data were collected using a semi-structured in-depth interview guide, data saturation attained at 10 participants. Each interview was audio-recorded with informed consent. All recordings were transcribed verbatim and translated into English. Under thematic analysis codes were grouped into 10 (sub-themes), from which 4 themes emerged. Results Caregivers described psychological distress as emerging from the interaction between caregiving burden, emotional deterioration, courtesy stigma and culturally embedded explanatory beliefs. Conclusions Most caregivers experienced considerable psychological distress and perceived stigma. This highlights the critical influence of social factors on caregiver well-being and reveals the need for culturally responsive family-centred psychiatric services.