Nada Baraka
900120112
JRMC4610
Audio documentary
“Stories of Silence: Acceptance”
Final script
Lead in: While the social stigma that surrounds mental illnesses in Egypt is important, its effects
are more long lasting. The stigma causes the diagnosis process to take forever for patients. This
documentary simply portrays the journey of those suffering in silence and how long it took them
to reach the light that a lot others hasn’t reached yet.
Music: Welcome to my Life- Simple Plan (: 11)
Simple Plan’s Welcome to my life is like a flashback from the time we thought the world was
gloomy growing up. But what happens when the feelings of your crush not answering your text
or you getting a bad grade turn into something more. And you turn into someone else.
Music: FADE-IN, Unanswered Questions by Kevin McLeod (: 50)
Sebba Ibrahim (SI): “I wake up in the morning and I tell myself its going to be a good day,
you’re going to be happy and then there is this voice inside of me uh crap no its not going to be,
its going to be like yesterday, last year…there is always that voice inside of me that says oh
you’re depressed” (: 16)
Seba, who is 19 years old, was diagnosed with clinical depression almost a year ago.
SI: “There wasn’t a specific situation where I discovered oh I have depression, it was kind of
gradual…I felt like exploding.” (: 05)
When I started to talk to Seba I was extremely cautious that I might trigger something inside her.
SI: “I hate sympathy, I don’t want people to sympathize, I feel that I’m weak and I hate the
feeling of weakness, that why I refused the whole idea that I’m depressed.” (:07)
When she said that I discovered how my approach was totally off base. Ok so lets take a minute
here.
Music: FADE-OUT, Unanswered Questions-Kevin McLeod (: 50)
Change the tempo of that sad music.
Music: FADE-IN, Quasi-motion by Kevin McLeod (: 17)
I already realized that coming to terms with depression is never easy. And I wanted to stick it to
the social stigma. I was really really tempted to do so. It would have made my job a lot easier.
But just to make sure, I needed a professional opinion.
Music: FADE-OUT, Quasi Motion- Kevin McLeod
So I visited Dr. Mona Amer professor of psychology at AUC.
Nat sound: footsteps on grass (:02)
Hi Professor
Nat sound: Knocking on door (:01)
Mona Amer (MA): “Its not much the shame and stigma as much as it is the judgment that the
person that there is something wrong with them.” (0:10)
Music: FADE-IN, Let it go- James Bay
And this was exactly Mariam’s version.
Mariam Mostafa (MM): “I think people get the wrong idea that people with mental illnesses will
always be this way, they inflict this upon themselves and they will always be this way.” (0:12)
Oh I forgot to introduce who Mariam is?
MM:“ My name is Mariam Mostafa; I’m 18 years old… I was diagnosed with bipolar mood
swings and depression.” (:04)
Ok so Mariam is 18, Seba is 19 naturally I was beginning to notice a trend, which Dr. Mona
confirmed.
MA: “Depression seems to be higher in young adults or youth.” (:04)
Any college students with us? Remember that awkward college transition.
Music: FADE-OUT, Let it go by James Bay.
It’s good to know the telltale signs.
Music: FADE-IN, Scheming Weasel by Kevin McLeod (: 90).
MA: “The person has a loss of interest in activities, that they usually would have found to be
pleasurable or interesting” (: 06)
SI: “I used to swim, play tennis, watch my favorite sitcom friends. And then all of a sudden I lost
interest in everything.” (: 05)
MA: “and/or feel sadness” (: 02)
MM: “I used to be sad all the time, I didn’t want to participate in anything or go out” (: 04)
MA: “In addition to other symptoms such as changes in appetite” (: 03)
SI: “I even lost interest in the stuff I like to eat.” (: 03)
MA: Changes in sleep (: 01)
SI: “I used to sleep a lot, I escaped everything (: 03)
MA: “Problems of attention and concentration.” (: 02)
SI: I got my first F in my first semester.” (: 02)
MA: “Feeling tired and fatigue. Or sometimes not being able to move.” (: 01)
SI: “Going out of bed is the worst mission ever of the day” (: 03)
You probably couldn’t tell which one was Mariam and which was Seba.
Music: FADE-OUT, Scheming Weasel by Kevin McLeod. (: 90)
But that’s not really the point. They both had textbook symptoms just like any disease.
Music: FADE-IN, Waves by Mr. Probz
MA: “What happens with depression is that the word depression or ekte2ab is used so commonly
that people don’t understand that it’s a real illness.” (:09)
Probably doesn’t matter what you name it.
SI: “Before a friend of mine was saying I’m depressed, I told her no don’t say that, you wouldn’t
wish to say that, if you do have depression you wouldn’t just say it frankly like that its so hard.”
(: 10)
So what is so different between depression than say finals week?
SI: “It felt helpless, hopeless like you see a dead end.” (:03)
Mariam more or less thought the same
MM: “When you’re depressed, you basically see that there is no future for yourself you don’t see
that there is light at the end of the tunnel.” (: 08)
It also helps when this is placed in a medical context.
MA: “There are some neurotransmitters which are the chemical in the brain that send messages
between the different neurons or the cells in the brain there seems to be some irregularities in the
neurotransmitters.” (: 13)
Ok I didn’t get that much but its functionality issues with the brain! Which is an organ just like
any other organ in the body. The math here is simple. Your body is suffering, you go see a
doctor. Right?
SI” “It took me some time, a lot of time, because I couldn’t accept it but then I made myself go
there.” (: 05)
AKA the phycology center at the American University in Cairo
SI: “And then they directed me to another one and after like three sessions, she directed me to
another one and after that fourth session they both told me that I do have clinical depression” (:
11)
Seba continues to tell me her experience of how when she got there, she was first directed to a
graduate student who didn’t help make the process better but when she finally got to the right
people, they told her she needs to take anti-depressants.
SI: “I was like why should I? I’m not depressed…and eventually I bought the anti
depressendants and I told myself what are you going to lose? If you try. But if you don’t try you
are going to lose.” (: 13)
She had defied the research odds.
“Here in Egypt a lot of people prefer not to take medication because it’s a sign that they have an
illness or that they are crazy and because of the stigma they may avoid taking the medication” (:
10)
I was sort of filling in the blank information, but my question led to somewhere else.
SI: “Are you still taking the medication? No I stopped. Why? Because every time I looked at the
tablet, it said antidepressendant, it’s like something that reminds you, you are depressed.” (: 10)
MM: “These medications usually change the chemicals in your brain they have side effects I
don’t like to take them anymore.” (: 07)
I honestly thought when I first learnt that depression was just about a disease as any that the
medicine was the correct and final call. I was at a lost trying to understand the path of recovery
myself. So next I thought about the support system for those experiencing depression.
MA: “Some of the research in the Arab world typically turn to family and religion as the source
of support for depression before they will go to a professional.” (:08)
Ok so lets dissect this. Starting with the family.
MM: “What helped you recover? I think my family members. My mom used to tell me never
mind what people say, move on and never pay attention to what they say at all.” (:08)
SI: “I didn’t tell my parents, especially my mom because my mom would be devastated if she
believed I’m depressed or if she even saw a tear in my eye, I couldn’t handle seeing her
upset…she would take the responsibility because she is with me 24/7, she would blame it on
herself and I don’t want that.” (: 14)
SI: “When I told a friend of mine, she told me you have to do get closer to God.” (:03)
And apparently that’s normal! According to Dr. Mona.
MA: “And we hear also in Egypt people say things like if you’re depressed that means you have
low connection with God or it’s a sign that you have poor faith.” (:07)
The process of acceptance and recovery is not easy. Blaming it on the social stigma is kind of
useless if it’s something internal.
“I think strong people overcome mental illness because it’s the hardest, it’s like fighting a battle
against you all the time.” (:06)
This documentary was produced by Nada Baraka for audio production class JRMC4610 taught
by Professor Kim Fox at the American University in Cairo. Special thanks to my interviewees
Dr. Mona Amer, Mariam Moustafa and Seba Mohamed. Music credits Kevin McLeod’s
Scheming Weasel as well as Unanswered Questions and Quasi Motion, Waves by Mr. Probz and
Let It Go by James Bay.