PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT ON LEPROSY

The disease leprosy is sometimes referred to as Hansen disease because of  physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen to whom it was named after. It became huge issues sometime ago as people referred to infected patients as unclean or unholy. Now even in a civilized world, people who called themselves educated beings still fall prey to leprosy. It was observed during research by the World Health Organization that most people believe leprosy is not just a medical disease but also spiritual or psychological affliction.

      Why do people ignore affected people?

1. Fear
2. Embarrassment
3. Confusion about the causes

This is due to the fact that many consider this disease coming from unclean people, fears of living around people with deformation and lesions. This is still happening in recent days, people don't go around victims because of the fear of getting infected with deformity and skin lesions. As far as we know, this disease is transferable even with a droplet from an untreated person.

Also, most people feel embarrassed to hang around with infected patients; they intend to separate them since they come from a respected community and don't want to be overlooked. The victim could be a friend, relatives, colleagues, but they still don't reconsider.  Recent case study shows  hundreds of families push out their infected family member to shabby environments often times abandoning them.

I had a chance to visit an abandoned environment made up mainly of people with leprosy, and realized how cruel the world could be.

There are a whole bunch of infected people being left here. Some from very good homes. A wife was left there for almost 4 years without a visit from her husband. All she gets from him is groceries delivered every month, others family have left them completely. Many other family members were left there because it was unbearable for them to see peers look down on them.

Various Reasons

People felt the need for their patient to be taken care of by someone who is more qualified and can tolerate them. Various reasons were brought out as people were being denied public assistance because they had infected persons as a family and friends. Highly educated people were losing respect for having a relative being infected. There was a sad case about an old lady whose family thinks she is cursed or is a witch. We all know leprosy is curable depending on early treatment, right?

Infected patient are deprived freedom, their rights to own even their property. They lose control by such with affects them internally giving them trauma, delusions.  Victims can lose everything including loved ones. Studies revealed

• Sudan 
• Nepal
• China
• United States
• Brazil 

These are the most affected countries in 2005 by WHO. It further stretched that the disease is not contagious and it’s treatable. It is just like any other diseases and should be paid attention to but is often overlooked when compared to other diseases like HIV and cancer.

In 2005 some countries suggested that those infected should put on identical clothing just so they will be singled out for being infected. Others complained about this practice because they felt uncomfortable and didn't want to be looked down on by their peers. Few of them were willing to abide by this.


Many innocent infected people including children who are suffering with fear, shame, denial, lack of self respect  and they have nobody to motivate them. They find themselves being alone. They feel so down and it’s really hard for them to even speak to anybody when visiting any leprosy missionary camp.They often do not want to be interviewed or being sited. Some respectably believe the disease is a cause of punishment from God for their sins.

Leprosy was mentioned in the Bible with man being healed from it as soon as he called on Jesus Christ when he was passing by him. This is where most believers come in and help the leprosy cause.


WHO


With the help of World Health Organization, ideas and information are widely spread to educate people both infected and uninfected on how to overcome the fear and how they can control the disease. They made further analysis that the disease has no effect on the brain. There are more researchers and scientist trying to convince people who are not infected to help. Leprosy is still a serious issue and people who get afflicted often try to end their lives.

Suicides are commonly found in communities because of the rejection given to infected victims by public or by relatives and family.  It is about time we express great desire and help poor people with Leprosy. They need to be attended to and well taken care of until we can eradicate this disease.