Türkiye’de Ruh Sağlığı Hizmetlerine Erişim Sürecinde Damgalanma Deneyimleri: Dijital Platformlardaki Kullanıcı Anlatılarının Sosyolojik Analizi/ Stigmatization Experiences in Accessing Mental Health Services in Turkey: A Sociological Analysis of User Narratives on Digital Platforms

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de ruh sağlığı hizmetlerine erişim süreçlerinde yaşanan damgalanma deneyimlerini dijital platformlardaki kullanıcı anlatıları üzerinden sosyolojik bir perspektifle analiz etmektedir. Damgalanma, bireysel tutumların ötesinde toplumsal yapılar, kurumsal pratikler ve dijital altyapılar tarafından üretilen ve sürdürülen yapısal bir süreç olarak ele alınmaktadır. Goffman’ın damga kuramı, Link ve Phelan’ın yapısal damgalanma modeli ile Bourdieu’nun sembolik şiddet kavramı, bu çok katmanlı yapının farklı boyutlarını aydınlatmak amacıyla bütünleşik biçimde kullanılmaktadır. Ekşi Sözlük, Reddit ve çeşitli niş forumlardan 2018-2024 yılları arasında derlenen 847 kullanıcı paylaşımı nitel içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Bulgular, psikiyatriye başvuran bireylerin dört birbirine eklemlenmiş düzeyde damgalanmayla karşılaştığını ortaya koymaktadır: aile ve yakın çevrenin etiketleyici ve dışlayıcı tutumlarından oluşan toplumsal baskı, sağlık sisteminin performans odaklı işleyişi ve yapısal yetersizliklerinin beslediği kurumsal damga, e-Nabız gibi merkezi dijital sağlık kayıt sistemlerinin kariyer ve istihdam üzerinde yarattığı mesleki tehdit, bireylerin toplumsal önyargıları kendilerine yönelterek kendi deneyimlerini değersizleştirdiği içselleştirilmiş damga. Dijital platformlar ise bu süreçte hem damgalanmanın yeniden üretildiği bir zemin olarak hem de bireylerin deneyimlerini anonim biçimde ifade edebildiği, pratik bilgi paylaştığı ve dayanışma ağları kurduğu bir ara alan olarak çift işlevli biçimde konumlanmaktadır. Çalışma ayrıca dijital sağlık altyapılarının yaygınlaşmasıyla birlikte Goffman’ın klasik “gizlenebilir damga” tipolojisinin dönüşümüne dikkat çekmekte, bireyin iradesi dışında kurumsal aktörlere görünür kılınan damgayı tanımlamak üzere “saydam damga” kavramını ve bunun politika önerisi olarak “dijital unutulma hakkını” tartışmaya açmaktadır.

Keywords

• Ruh sağlığı damgalanması
• dijital platformlar
• nitel içerik analizi
• sembolik şiddet
• sağlık sosyolojisi
• Türkiye

Türkiye’de Ruh Sağlığı Hizmetlerine Erişim Sürecinde Damgalanma Deneyimleri: Dijital Platformlardaki Kullanıcı Anlatılarının Sosyolojik Analizi/ Stigmatization Experiences in Accessing Mental Health Services in Turkey: A Sociological Analysis of User Narratives on Digital Platforms

Abstract

This study examines the stigmatization experiences of individuals seeking mental health services in Turkey, analyzing user narratives collected from digital platforms through a sociological lens. Stigmatization is conceptualized here not as a matter of individual prejudice or attitudinal failure, but as a structurally produced and institutionally reproduced process sustained by intersecting social arrangements, organizational practices, and digital infrastructures. The theoretical architecture of the study integrates three complementary frameworks: Erving Goffman’s foundational stigma theory, Bruce Link and Jo Phelan’s structural stigmatization model, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence. Each framework illuminates a distinct yet interrelated dimension of the multilayered phenomenon under investigation, allowing the analysis to move fluidly between interactional, structural, and dispositional levels of explanation. The empirical basis of the study consists of 847 user posts collected from Ekşi Sözlük, Reddit, and several niche forums including spanning the years 2018 to 2024. These platforms were selected for their capacity to represent distinct segments of Turkish mental health discourse: Ekşi Sözlük for its semi-anonymous, culturally embedded discursive culture and extensive archival depth, Reddit for its fully anonymous structure and comparative international perspective and the niche forums for their concentrated data on occupational stigmatization experiences. Data were analyzed through a six-phase thematic analysis protocol following Braun and Clarke’s widely adopted framework, combining inductive coding derived from the data with deductive categories anchored in theoretical literature. The methodological stance draws on Christine Hine’s interpretive approach to digital research, treating online narratives not as transparent reflections of social reality but as discursively shaped productions conditioned by platform cultures, anonymity norms, and the conventions of digital communication.

Keywords

• Mental health stigmatization
• digital platforms
• qualitative content analysis
• symbolic violence
• health sociology
• Turkey

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