Wives as Caregivers of Persons having Mental Illness: Structural Stigma and Intersectionality Revisited

In India, family members as the caregivers of persons with mental disorders play a significant role in their recovery process. They face stigma and struggle while carrying out responsibilities that often goes unnoticed. This study explored caregivers’ lived experiences as wives of persons with severe mental illness. In-depth open-ended interviews were carried out with 4 caregivers which were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using grounded theory approach with situational analysis. Findings revealed pervasive effect of intersectionality of structural stigma in different domains (mental illness, gender, skin colour, socio-economic factors etc). Caregivers as wives, facing deprivation of agency while getting married and taking necessary actions to seek help for their husbands. Concealability, fear to be judged by the society and logistic impediments of getting help were crucial. Interestingly, the study revealed that spirituality, creativity embedded in the nuances of lived experience helped to locate alternative ways of coping.