Mental Patients’ Perception Towards Social Stigma

Mental disorders occur when individual facing disturbance in the interaction either in themselves as well the social environment and interference results in a change of cognitive, emotional and social. Individuals with mental disorders are often be labeled and stigma imposed by society due to the behavior and appearance that are considered to deviate from the norms of society. This initial survey aims to identify the perceptions of individuals with mental disorders on people’s reactions. A total of 31 individuals suffering from mental disorders neurosis category and are undergoing further treatment at the Penang Hospital Psychiatric Clinic were selected based on convenience sampling technique as respondents. Neurosis mental disorder refers to any behavior or thinking which causes instability condition and suffering to the patient. Neurosis Symptoms may include severe emotional condition by pathological, such as conditions of anxiety or depression, behavior and thoughts sad like phobias, obsessively or even physical illnesses such as hysteria or “hypokondria”. However, individuals have awareness on their social environment. Information gathered through structured interviews using questionnaires. Stigma examined based on view of individuals who suffering from mental disorders about society reactions towards them. The information was analyzed using SPSS 21 and presented in the form of distributions and percentages. The findings showed that a large number of individuals who suffer from mental disorders express society reactions to them are positive. These findings reflect that not all of individuals suffer from mental disorders faced negative stigma from society.