Exploring the Discussion of Mental Illness Awareness in Qatar Before and After COVID-19 in Social Media

In the GCC and specifically for Qataris, appearance and social status are important; these are considered legacies - not to be touched or tainted. In Qatar, when people face problems with their psychological health and visit a therapist, they are often deemed "mentally ill" despite the significance of the psychological problem that they are facing. Even when taking services that are provided by the government, the people who seek these kinds of services are perceived as unfit or as having a problem that cannot be dealt with. Within the timeframes before and after the COVID-19 appearance, there have been changes in the discussion of mental health on social media in Qatar. The aim of this thesis is to highlight these mental health discussions within Qatar's society and the corresponding online community by conducting a textual analysis of tweets obtained via a command line tool from Twitter's API. The findings indicate that there has been a rise in discussions and awareness regarding mental health disorders, an increase in access to mental health care services, a more favorable attitude towards mental health among both professionals and individuals, positive perceptions of mental health, an increase in factors influencing mental health-related stigma, the continual implementation of Qatar Mental Health strategies and activities aimed at reducing stigma, and a positive portrayal of mental health disorders in online media within Qatar's community. Given the lack of an online social media textual analysis within mental health care literature, it is crucial to emphasize the need to examine how discussions about mental health care on social media have changed before and after the onset of COVID-19.