The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Universitas Indonesia (UI) again held a public lecture entitled Finding Zen in Chaos on Saturday, December 2, 2023, offline in Hall A of FPH UI. Shabrina Audinia, M.Psi., Alumni of the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, attended as a speaker accompanied by Dr. Dadan Erwandi, S.Psi., M.Si., OSH FPH UI lecturer as moderator in the public lecture attended by FPH UI students this time.
Finding Zen in Chaos or the ability to manage stress is the answer to the problems and urgency of current students regarding their mental health conditions. Mental health is a state of well-being that makes individuals able to overcome life stress, realize their abilities, study, and work normally, and contribute to their environment.
“Many of today’s students are vulnerable to mental health and are reported to be tragic in solving their problems. Various factors can occur as triggers for problems. “So, mental maturity is something that must be developed and implemented by every student to deal with it,” said Dr. Dadan Erwandi, S.Psi., M.Si., in his speech.
The Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Universitas Indonesia (UI) conducted research and data showing that more than 60% of students experience at least one mental health disorder. Based on data from the 2020 BEM Psychology study, as many as 48% of students experienced anxiety disorders, 55% had symptoms of depression, and 64% had poor sleep quality.
The main problems seen in UI students to date are summarized in 4 pillars, namely intrapersonal, academic, environmental, and interpersonal problems. This has an impact on students’ concentration, meaning, energy and independence, giving rise to poor academic performance and social relationships as well as a poor view of themselves and others.
The cognitive triangle states thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The three of them are said to provide reasons why someone has mental problems because they are related to each other. Thoughts determine a person’s feelings and behavior so that one’s perspective greatly influences the conditions that will occur.
Stress is a form of adjustment that is natural to feel. This is proven in the Stress Performance Curve which shows that a person’s optimal performance is when he is at the peak of his stress. However, it is important to remember that the stress experienced cannot be allowed to continue, it must be suppressed and stopped so that further problems do not arise.
“Stress management can be done through your control circle. Focusing on oneself and current problems is the key to freeing a person from stress that might occur. “This method can be interpreted as mindfulness, namely allowing yourself to focus completely on this moment and now when facing current problems,” explained Shabrina.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a therapy technique given by Shabrina at the end of her material. He invites the audience to see themselves as a context, namely trying to separate themselves from themselves temporarily to become someone else so that they can fully see their current situation and the events that have occurred.
“A bad day doesn’t mean a bad life. When we experience failure, we do not necessarily fail completely. Stress is a neutral thing. So, it’s okay not to feel okay, but it’s not okay to stay in it,” concluded Shabrina in delivering her material. (ITM)
