Mental Breakdown While the World Is Burned Out

The world is becoming more worrying by the day, and conditions have still not improved to this day. An invisible virus has devastated the whole world. It has been more than a year since Covid-19 settled in, especially in Indonesia. Various impacts have been felt by society, from the economic, social and educational to the physical and non-physical, and above all mental health. Mental health is one of the impacts felt most strongly lately.

            This pandemic has caused stress for the public. Worry, anxiety and fear are normal responses to an existing threat. While the world is anxiously trying to fix several things affected by this pandemic, people's mental state is getting more down day by day. This is especially so as social activities are very restricted at present.

            We generally assume that we are doing fine, and sometimes we even neglect our own mental health. Many communities are opening volunteer programmes on mental health awareness. This indicates that the mental health of the public, especially students, is not doing so well. In addition, young people, especially students, are very enthusiastic about and aware of this issue. Even invitations to join a campaign are trending on social media.

            For students, there are times when academic assignments become heavy, and are even felt to be beyond their ability. Sometimes, because of the pressure felt, mood swings often occur: happy for five minutes, then sad five minutes later. Even worse, some get angry at themselves. Besides that, another factor causing this is the restriction on social activities. 

            Normal education can no longer be experienced now; many educators and learners complain because they cannot attend school normally. Assignments are given every day, the materials available are limited, and they stare at a screen non-stop from morning until evening. Sometimes such a situation makes learners' mental state unstable and can lead to a mental breakdown. We even often regard stress caused by social or work problems as normal.

            Although the effects of such stress are not felt immediately, if we keep letting our minds stay stressed it will lead to serious mental problems. A mental breakdown is usually felt because a person can no longer cope with their stress. In fact, the term mental breakdown is not a medical term, but a popular one.

            A mental breakdown is a mental health condition caused by excessive stress or anxiety and can also disrupt daily activities. Such a condition can be caused by several factors, for example too much unfinished work, or it may even be the result of a history of mental health disorders. This is because socialising with other people can make our mood happier and calmer and can create a positive atmosphere.

            According to (Yustinus, 2006), mental health is the science that discusses a person's psychological life so that they become the most perfect agent. Meanwhile, mental health according to the WHO (World Health Organization) is a state in which a person feels healthy and happy, is able to face life's challenges, accepts others, and has a positive attitude towards themselves and others. Mental health is also a condition in which an individual can develop physically, mentally, spiritually and socially, realise their own abilities, cope with pressure, and be able to contribute.

            One thing we can do to keep our mental health in good shape in a pandemic era like this is self-adjustment. This aspect is very important for controlling ourselves in the face of obstacles. One way to adjust is by changing our mindset and motivating ourselves. Besides that, we can do things we like. This helps create a productive atmosphere so that we do not get stuck on thoughts that bring our mood down.

            In addition, support is needed to manage mental health. One is the spiritual and religious factor. The higher the religious factor, the higher the mental health, and vice versa. Because there are many factors that cause stress, we need to defend ourselves optimally and must be able to manage our own mental health, for example by knowing our own emotional state. Then we must have a strategy for coping with the anxiety we have.

            One technique that can be used to control our mind is self – talk. Self – talk is an internal dialogue with oneself that is influenced by the subconscious mind by voicing what we feel, so that it can become a suggestion to ourselves. The benefits of doing self – talk are that it helps us make peace with situations we cannot control, can relieve stress, and makes situations that frighten us easier to get through.

            Mental health is an important aspect of achieving overall health. Everyone must look after their mental health; if we are too anxious, it will cause an imbalance in the brain that leads to psychological disorders. In addition, when a person is excessively stressed or anxious, it will affect the body's immunity, making the body easily susceptible to disease. Therefore, to avoid a mental breakdown, try to reduce negative stigma, cut down on activities that cause anxiety and stress, and think optimistically in facing this pandemic.

link to the Harian Momentum e-paper

http://m.harianmomentum.com/read/36094/harian-momentum-edisi-30-agustus-2021