Overcoming Mental Illness with Self Healing

Since learning from home was set by the government to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission, it has triggered mental illness among students. Mental illness is a mental disorder that refers to a condition affecting thoughts, feelings and mood. Therefore, students' mental health is important to pay attention to, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mental disorders can be caused by biological, psychological and environmental factors. Biologically, adolescents generally experience uncontrolled and more sensitive emotions. The online school environment can trigger mental disorders in students. This is because school activities have been moved to the home, so opportunities to socialise and play are reduced, compounded by the policy of restricting community activities.

The general characteristics of people with mental disorders include unstable emotions, being gloomy, sadness without cause, anxiety and restlessness, and even wanting to end one's life. These mental disorders make life difficult, especially in social interaction, compounded by social media as a place of free expression. As a result, students are vulnerable to becoming victims of bullying, which can trigger mental disorders. Students instead withdraw from the world, find it hard to get along with others, overthink, and feel insecure.

A study by the American Psychological Association states that women are more vulnerable to mental disorders. Why is that so? By nature, women are known as sensitive beings. In today's terms, baper, or "carried away by feelings". This relates to a woman's mental health: if it is bottled up or kept to herself, it ends in blaming herself, as if she were the biggest failure in the world.

So, what is the role of the family in dealing with the mental illness that afflicts schoolchildren? The family is the closest circle. Openness among family members is needed to maintain family harmony. Parents must understand their children's way of thinking, which differs from their own wishes. It is not uncommon for the wishes of children and parents to differ, especially over matters of university study.

Quarrels in the family affect a child's mental burden. Therefore, families are expected to give children positive energy by keeping up communication that protects the child's feelings. To deal with mental disorders, students can take a spiritual approach to mental health problems. Our problems depend on how we take and respond to them. For example, there are students who stay enjoy even when schoolwork piles up, and children who are stressed by too many assignments, with bodies even responding by falling ill. So, do not blame circumstances. As for the spiritual approach, we must believe that all problems come from God and believe that every path to a solution is made easy as long as we do not despair.

People with mental illness tend to be ostracised by society and even become a topic of gossip. Of course this is not justified. We should instead be a support system, inviting sufferers to take part in positive activities, being good listeners and advisers who hear out their complaints. Self healing is the path for people with mental illness who are trying to fight their mental illness. Self healing can be done by first accepting ourselves without demanding more, forgiving ourselves, studying as best we can without forcing ourselves, and not feeling that failure is death.

In addition, instil in ourselves not to be afraid, insecure or inferior about our friends' abilities. Believe that every creature is created with its own strengths and weaknesses. Remember not to focus on the problem, but to focus on the solution. Do not make problems a burden, but make them a challenge. In solving problems, we women are permitted to imitate the way men face problems: "Bodo amat" (who cares), easy going, relaxed, whatever the problem. Certainly not through physical fights, but in solving problems we must be brave, smart, and of course keep a cool head.

Newspaper: Harian Momentum

http://m.harianmomentum.com/read/37050/harian-momentum-14-oktober-2021