Mental
health with the topic 'Psychosocial Problems of Youth' became part of the
Health Problems in Indonesia training held by Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta through
virtual discussion on Dec 5, 2020. Twenty student participants from various
study backgrounds in Yogyakarta and outside Yogyakarta such as Sumba, Lampung,
Nias, Flores, Bangka, Maluku, and Cilacap, coloring the discussion which
invited Yosef Andre Beo as a resource person. Andre is familiar with Stube
HEMAT because he was active in this institution while studying in Yogyakarta. Now,
he is completing a Master in Mental Nursing at Brawijaya University Malang.
In his presentation, Andre revealed that psychosocial problems can be seen in the form of anxiety, hopelessness, helplessness, feeling overwhelmed, lonely, disturbed body image, and complaining continuously. During the pandemic, physical distancing and study from home cause people cannot do their usual activities, and this condition is vulnerable to adolescents and early adults, because they are psychosocially unstable so they are prone to trigger depression and mental disturbance, as reported by kompas.com, on 18/10/2020 that a high school student in Gowa, South Sulawesi committed suicide due to depression with many online tasks and difficulty accessing the internet.
Furthermore,
a person's psychological development goes through phases (1) toddler / golden age (1-3
years), a phase where a person learns to be independent or feels shy
and hesitant. At this time parents are advised not to limit their movement and
independence too much so as not to become dependent. (2) pre-school age (3-5 years),
the phase where curiosity and enthusiasm for learning new things are dominant.
If the child rarely gets good stimulation, he will feel guilty and fail,
because in this phase the child is forming a self-concept. (3) school age (6-12 years)
children learn to interact with their peers and teachers. If they have space
for expression, they are socially and academically skilled to feel confident,
but if no, they will feel inferior and cannot see the good side of themselves. (4)
adolescence (12-18 years) they can show roles and get along by adopting
group values and their environment and can make
their own decision. Identity clarity is obtained when there is appreciation
from parents or the environment who help them through the process of finding
their identity. The inability to resolve a conflict can lead to role disorder. (5)
adulthood (18-40 years) when someone is committed and selective to
build a relationship with other people, but if he/she fails, there will be a
sense of alienation and distance in interacting with people, even isolating
him/herself.
In this interactive discussion, several participants recounted their childhood and reflected on the existence of social standards that they experienced and which were different from adolescents in other areas. These social standards influence much to their growth and development process both within the family and in the community, and sometimes they were not able to manage stressful situations or the treatment that they will face in the future. Some of the experiences revealed that being closer to mother since childhood tend to be rebellious, some claimed to be more comfortable interacting with male friends than female friends, more comfortable when being tomboyish, responding emotionally to the bullying she experienced, there was also a testimony of experiencing sexual violence threat from someone close to her which made her inferior.
Andre
said that those who have dared to share these experiences prove that they dare
to face the past, make peace with themselves and their circumstances, and a
willingness to improve themselves. This is a very extraordinary positive point
possessed by them. Some of the key strategies in overcoming the above
psychosocial problems are self-reflection, spiritual enhancement, building
support systems, and getting professional help. It is very useful if the
students who already understand it, help their peers to unravel their past
experiences and build optimism in the future. ***
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