EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE STIGMA ON INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Stigma is the negative thoughts, opinions, and beliefs that a person gets from society or the environment. Stigma is usually in the form of labeling, stereotypes, separation and discrimination, so that it can affect the whole person.
Stigma is created by people when they see something that is considered deviant or strange because there are things that are not as it should be. Stigma is usually something that society judges as shameful or not based on the values it holds, which leads to a decrease in self-confidence, a decrease in morale, withdrawal themselves from the social environment, run away from work, and lose direction in the future.
Stigma, discrimination and neglect hinder the care and treatment of people with mental disorders. The stigma of people with mental disorders makes it even more difficult for them to get proper treatment and isolation. Most people with ke choose to remain silent and not tell others for fear of rejection.
In Indonesia, stigmatization of people with mental disorders is not new. This situation is not uncommon, and it also occurs in the patient's family. Mental health problems in Indonesia are still a stigma and have a negative impact on patients. For example, such as discrimination and social exclusion. This stigma can hinder the healing and recovery of mental health sufferers.
In Indonesia, the stigma or bad value suffered by mentally healthy people is obtained through the influence of a harsh environment. Labeling, rejection, and stereotypes of people with mental disorders make people with mental disorders choose to be silent or not to consult with experts. In Indonesia, people still do not have extensive information about mental health. The lack of mental health knowledge makes the public's assessment of mental disorders patients become negative. As a result, the treatment of mental disorders patients is not appropriate.
The limited understanding and knowledge of the Indonesian people about mental health cannot be separated from cultural traditions or the values of people's beliefs. Some people still believe that the cause of mental health comes from supernatural things or superstitions, so people with mental health disorders think that the disorder that occurs is a shameful thing. This understanding makes people who need expert assistance reluctant to be handled. Not infrequently, people with mental health disorders feel ashamed to be in society.
In Indonesia, stigmatization of patients with mental disorders can worsen the patient's condition. Some of the negative impacts experienced by people with mental disorders due to this stigma include:
1. Feeling embarrassed and eventually unwilling to seek help or appropriate medical treatment
2. Feeling not understood by friends, colleagues or family members
3. Reduced opportunities for work, education, or social activities like other people
4. Bullied with verbal and physical violence
This stigma has more or less reduced the opportunities for people with mental disorders to participate in various forms of community activities. This is because stigma makes patients think that they cannot achieve their goals or even perform certain tasks.
Most Indonesians stigmatize people who suffer from mental disorders or what is more commonly referred to as "crazy" in everyday conversation, and often experience unpleasant treatment, even in pasung.
In fact, patients with mental disorders can be sent to the hospital for treatment. In addition, discussing mental disorders in society is also a taboo subject. As a result, patients cannot find the right treatment. Lack of knowledge of the Indonesian people about the existence of various mental illnesses, how to identify them and how to deal with them, often triggers the wrong treatment of people with mental disorders and lack of knowledge of the symptoms of mental illness also makes people who actually experience symptoms of mental illness become unconscious. so they are reluctant to consult a psychiatrist to check the situation.