A systematized observation of human behavior towards madness induced personal questions on what mental patients had to say about their own life dynamics. The perspective of these people, regarding the concept of insanity, is the subject of this study. This descriptive and qualitative investigation has two objectives. The first is the description of the speech of mental patients in relation to insanity. The second objective is the analysis of their perception of the psychiatric process. Results obtained through semi-structured interviews showed that the great majority of the patients do not consider themselves mentally ill. They approach madness as stereotypy, aggressiveness, mendicancy and absence of reasoning. Although they admitted being different, they did not consider themselves mentally ill.
psychiatric nursing; mental health; madness