Mediated Mental Health Disclosure on Social Media and Perceived Social Support (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Balanced mental health is fundamental for every human being. To maintain good mental health, people may seek counseling from psychiatrists and disclose problems with family and friends. Increasingly, people also seek support for managing mental health problems on social media. OBJECTIVE This study explored what kind of mental health problems Bangladeshi individuals share on Facebook groups and what kind of support individuals get from Facebook users. METHODS I did a qualitative textual content analysis of 100 Facebook posts and 1,000 associated comments from public mental health focused groups. RESULTS I found mental health problems in three categories (family-related, romantic relationship-related, and intrapersonal-related). Although the literature reveals up to five types of social support, this study identified two types: informational and emotional. I found that people who seek mental health support got more informational and positive support compared to emotional support and negative support. Positive support may encourage individuals to disclose more information on social media. CONCLUSIONS Most of the individuals experienced mental health problems from spouses and parents. The group members helped the individuals by sharing information and offering advice to meet with the physicists. Some of the members also provide emotional support by showing empathy, sympathy and sharing personal experiences.