UM Surabaya Lecturer Shares 10 Tips for Maintaining Mental Health for Students

• 14 Oct
• 2022

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UM Surabaya Lecturer Shares 10 Tips for Maintaining Mental Health for Students

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• By Uswah Sahal
• Health
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A few days ago social media was horrified by a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) student who fell to his death from the 11th floor of a hotel on Jalan Colombo, Caturtunggal, Depok, Sleman Regency. The victim was suspected of having committed suicide due to depression after finding a psychologist's certificate from the hospital regarding the victim's condition.

Regarding this incident, Uswatun Hasanah, a Mental Nursing Lecturer at UM Surabaya, also gave a response. One of them is by sharing a number of tips on maintaining mental health for students.

Uswatun said, things that can be risk factors or triggers for the emergence of mental health problems in students include: environmental changes and transition processes, academic stress, loneliness, toxic friendships, factors of adolescent development, substance abuse, socioeconomic problems, stigma related mental health, and the less optimal role of mental health support institutions in the campus environment.

"It is important to identify the underlying causes of mental health problems, especially in college students, with the hope that the results of this identification can become a reference in determining preventive measures for mental health problems," said Uswatun Friday (14/10/22)

He shared several tips that can be applied by students, both those who are mentally healthy, who are at risk of experiencing mental disorders or those who have been diagnosed with mental disorders so that they do not end in suicide.

First, know and understand yourself. Students must be able to understand the condition of the body both physically and mentally, so that when symptoms of physical or mental disorders appear, students will automatically be alert so that they are able to take preventive measures and stop symptoms that are getting worse or able to make decisions and even take appropriate actions in seeking help.

Second, create and establish relationships with a supportive environment. A healthy environment and mutually supportive relationships between individuals are very important to improve mental health among students.

"If it is really necessary, students can form a supportive group which can be a forum for conveying grievances to each other when they feel pressured or when they are in a difficult situation, so that the sharing process can be responded to by the group by providing mutual support," he said again.

Third, make a schedule of priority activities. When entering the tertiary level, students will be in a transition period both related to academic load, lecture time, organizational and extracurricular activities and other activities which of course all new students want to try and do.

However, many of these activities often cause stress for students so that it is difficult to allocate time. To minimize stress, students can make a priority scale by focusing on completing important things first, and avoiding delaying completing assignments or homework.

Fourth, set boundaries and set realistic expectations. Students must know their own limits, when they feel tired and have to stop. Being a student doesn't have to be productive all the time to meet very high expectations. In addition, students can set realistic expectations so that when these expectations cannot be realized properly it will not affect mental stability due to a deep feeling of disappointment.

Fifth, adopting a healthy lifestyle, such as consuming healthy, nutritious food, getting enough sleep and regular exercise can help the body produce hormones of happiness so that the mood will be better and can reduce feelings of anxiety, anger, depression and stress that exist in the body. thought.

Sixth avoid consumption of alcohol and drugs. Because this cannot help solve the problem, in fact it can trigger various negative effects such as emotional instability, disturbed concentration, and makes the body not relax.

Seventh, do independent exercises to improve mental health. Exercises that can be used to improve mental health when feeling depressed, full of mind, physically and mentally emotionally tired include deep breathing relaxation, distraction by doing things you like/hobby, meditation, yoga, laughing out loud, meditating, writing journaling, stretching, sketching, listening to music or dancing.

Eighth, give appreciation to yourself. There is nothing wrong with students giving rewards to themselves for simple achievements that have been successfully achieved. This reward can be in the form of praise and gratitude for yourself for having struggled, or it can also be buying something you really want, this is a form of self-worth.

Ninth, take advantage of available resources. Students can take advantage of all the resources and facilities provided by the campus, especially if a counseling agency or mental health consultant has been provided on campus.

Finally contact a mental health professional. Don't hesitate to make an appointment with a mental health professional, be it a psychiatrist, psychologist, mental nurse specialist or other consultant to get the right therapy in dealing with problems.

"Some of the tips that I mentioned will be very useful in improving students' mental health if applied correctly," concluded Uswatun.