Handling your mental health during a pandemic - “start communication, start happiness”
By Mahfira Leily Sylraini, Indonesian Young Pharmacists Group(9/6/21)
World Health Organization (WHO) defines “health” as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. In this current pandemic situation, each individual needs to maintain physical health to prevent COVID-19 transmission by adopting clean and healthy living behaviors such as wearing a mask, washing hands, and maintaining a physical distance.
However, mental health is also an important thing to pay attention to achieve optimal health conditions.
COVID-19 pandemic has led to many lifestyle changes that can affect mental health.
Restrictions on mass activities, working and studying from home, temporary unemployment, until limiting physical contact with other people. This condition can lead to different responses to each individual. Fear, worry, anxiety, sadness, and stress are normal responses that arise when someone is facing a condition full of uncertainty, such as this current COVID-19 pandemic.
There are many ways in which we can maintain our mental health in this pandemic, one of them is to stay connected and communicate with others. Humans are social creatures who can not live alone. Even though the pandemic condition makes us need to do physical distancing to reduce COVID-19 transmission, it does not mean that we can not socialize with other people. Currently, there are many ways in which we can keep socializing remotely through online communication media.
Start communication with people we trust such as parents, family, friends, or work relatives to tell them what we are thinking and feeling right now.
Just like when we do activities that we enjoy, starting positive conversations with other people can trigger dopamine release. The function of dopamine is quite a lot, such as affecting emotions, movement, pleasure sensations, and concentration. Based on research, it turns out that dopamine has an important function in the immune system, as an immunoregulatory.
A good immune system is certainly needed to deal with current pandemic conditions.
Communicating does not only have an impact on ourselves. Two-way communication involves communicators and communicants. Communicating with other people can also help them to reduce stress and feel less lonely or isolated.
Last but not least, never feel alone to face this pandemic situation. Everyone in this world is also fighting against COVID-19 and hopes things will get better soon. However, if stress gets worse, affects daily activities, and becomes more difficult for us to handle, don’t hesitate to immediately seek professional help to handle it.
So, don’t forget to stay connected, keep being positive and optimistic!
Reference
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2021. Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
2. Matt SM, Gaskill PJ. Where Is Dopamine and how do Immune Cells See it?: Dopamine-Mediated Immune Cell Function in Health and Disease. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2020 Mar;15(1):114–164.
3. World Health Organization (WHO). 2021. Mental health & COVID-19.
https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/covid-19
