This article was written by Adelia Ramadhani, Corporate PR Intern.
“Amidst this pandemic…”—that has been the usual way to begin writing an article nowadays, as the pandemic brings a lot of changes to our life. We were used to going to the office for work, and now we are adjusting ourselves to working from home. Those meetups on the weekend with friends? No longer can do. Instead, watching TV series or dramas has become our new routine on the weekend as we couldn’t go out as much and freely as before. The new normal has been applied to our lives, but sometimes it’s hard to cope with it— and to a certain extent, it has caused us stress and other mental health problems. That said, we must find ways to combat these issues so that we can weather this storm together.
On May 15, Forest Interactive Indonesia held a Forest Talk, an expert sharing session in the afternoon on taking care of our mental health during the quarantine. Raden Rara Maria Anita, a certified hypnotist, came to share what to do to cope with changes and the stress it brings amidst this pandemic.
Cabin Fever
The pandemic doesn’t leave us another choice other than staying at home. Confined to our houses for an extended period could lead us to a series of emotions or symptoms called Cabin Fever. The cabin fever rooted in an intense feeling of self-isolation and may include several distressing symptoms such as restlessness, decreased motivation, and irregular sleeping patterns. Thus, we need to be aware of the signs to help ourselves to deal with the fever.
How to Cope with It
There are several ways we can do to cope with cabin fever and stress— physically, mentally, spiritually, and environmentally. Biologically, we should get enough sleep (7–8 hours a day), eat healthy food and exercise regularly.
What’s more, we can cope emotionally by showing our true emotions to other people without hiding it. Acknowledging our feelings is vital for overall well-being because it’s the way our body communicates—letting us know about what’s going on within. The more you understand your own emotional responses, the easier it is to deal with life’s challenges. You will comprehend why something affects you in a particular way. Honest communication can be a significant help when showing our real emotions to others so that other people can understand us too. Other than that, encouraging and supporting others can be an effective way of combating our stress. In recent studies, it shows that helping others with their struggles is proven to buffer the adverse effects of stress on well-being.
The sharing session was lit as it stimulated our talents to ask a lot of questions, and it definitely increased their self-awareness of mental health. Such a sweet achievement for us since the mental health issue oftentimes becomes a taboo topic amongst our society. We hope that this sharing session could be a great start to promote better mental health practices in our workplace.
Special thanks to Corporate PR & People Operations of Forest Interactive Indonesia who made this Forest Talk possible.
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