Despite being in the 21st century, mental helath remains an under-discussed topic. It is even more difficult to speak up when it comes to your own experience, because society does not accept a person with menal health problems. In my research, I therefore wanted to give a voice to people, who struggle with mental health problems either alone or with the support of family and friends. As mental health is big part of every individual, it is important to talk about it, raise awareness and ultimately offer support and help to the individual, who has problems in mental health. The Ozara association also works with this aim in mind. I myself focused on the users of the Izola unit, because this is the only unit in the area where I live. In my thesis, I research what a mental crisis means for users, how they experience it and survive it, what are their experiences with hospitalization and whether this is the only solution in times of crisis. I also researched how users feel stigma, how they deal with it and how they see the role of the social worker before hospitalization and in the proces after it. The following topics are covered in the theoretical part: mental health, mental crises, Ozara association and self-help group, hospitalization, involuntary hospitalization, as well as stigma and the consequences of hospitalization. In the empirical part, I present the methodology of the conducted research and then I also capture the results of the research obtained with the help of partially standardized interviews. 5 people participated in the research, namely members of the Ozara association – unit Izola. The results showed hospitalization is not the only solution in times of crisis, but regardless, users who have been hospitalized have a good experience. Uses feel stigmatized by society, but most not bother with it. They also have a positive experience with self-help groups and with a social worker in the Ozara association - Izola unit, who they describe as an exeptional workes with a lot of knowledge and useful advice.
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