The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

It’s more than likely that you or someone you know have a mental illness. This is because it’s so common these days, but luckily, people are more aware than ever about mental illness, which is great news, right? Well, not as good as you might think. People talking about mental illness is great for breaking the stigma surrounding it. So in celebration of Mental Health Awareness Day, we wanted to share the easiest, cheapest methods to get medical attention if you have or think you have a mental illness.

Recently, we came across the number the Ministry of Health has created for people seeking help with their mental illness (0220816831). So we called it, and here is what happened.

A really nice lady picked up and asked about our details, and why are we calling this number. We said we think we have depression. The woman directed us to the nearest hospital that would help us and told us it would be free.

We sent a member of our crew, and once at the hospital, it turned out that it’s not entirely free. He had to pay 1 LE for the forms that he had to fill. After the paperwork, he went to the waiting area, where he waited to see a psychiatrist. The doctor was professional and diagnosed him correctly with the mental illness that he’s already diagnosed with. The doctor then gave him a prescription and explained how to get all the medications he needed for the next month from the pharmacy downstairs for free and that he could come every month to get his medicine the same way; however, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Being completely free means that it’s so busy. He had to wait for three hours before being seen by the doctor, and the waiting area was filled with all sorts of people, some screaming or talking to themselves. But it’s not dangerous at all; there were plenty of guards. Finally, the doctor will only diagnose and prescribe medication. He’s not the therapist you’re going to visit and talk to him about your problems; in fact, you’ll only see him just once.

Now the obvious question is, is it worth the hassle? In our opinion, the answer is yes. It’s worth it to find out if you need medication, or maybe just therapy.  Perhaps you can go there to get your meds (you can go to the doctor there with a prescription from another therapist and he’ll give you the meds for free). However, we recommend taking someone with you to help pass the waiting time.