By: Ahmad Siknun *
Former Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta, Sandiaga Uno, admitted that many of his family members had psychiatric disorders. He did not feel ashamed to express this in order to improve the understanding of the community and people with mental disorders (ODGJ).
“Many of my family members experience depression, stress and so on,” Sandiaga said.
He said that his openness was not the first time. He said that mental disorders are realities in the life of the metropolis. “Our discourse here is to raise people with mental disorders (ODGJ) as a normal phenomenon.
Sandiaga Uno was concerned because there were still many families who considered psychiatric disorders as a disgrace. They also chose to hide their family members who had psychiatric disorders. Moreover, the community still makes it a laughing stock. This condition is one of the obstacles that makes people with psychiatric disorders difficult to reach. The DKI Health Service does not even have data on the distribution of people with psychiatric disorders.
Sandiaga said the community should not regard this as a stigma. He regretted that there are still 10 percent of people with mental disorders in DKI who have not received hospitalization. Even they have no treatment at all, let alone medicine.
“Imagine if people don’t take medicine, it hurts a long time ago. The impact will be even more powerful. So you have to give medicine. Treatment must be given, “he said.
On another occasion, Sandiaga Uno also briefly told how his father, Razif Halik Uno, who was often called Henk Uno, with psychological problems he experienced could still support his wife, Mien Uno and educate his children, Indra and Sandiaga Uno to become successful children. Sandi conveyed the story at the Research Capacity Building Towards the Implementation of the National Institute of Mental Health at the Indonesian Ministry of Health.
“My father from the beginning said that he did not have fighting spirit, my father almost gave up. So that children and wives become pillars in the family, “Sandi said.
Sandiaga said that at least more than 20% of DKI residents who had a slight mental health problem from a very mild to severe level. The data was obtained by Sandi from Soeharto Hospital Heerdjan in Grogol, West Jakarta.
Sandi hopes his father’s determination can be an example for Indonesian families who have family members with psychological constraints. The life story of Sandiaga’s father, Henk uno, has been included in a book that stands “Uno for a better generation”.
Based on the results of basic health research (RISKESDAS) from the Ministry of Health, people with psychosocial disabilities in Indonesia in 2013 reached 14 million people. These sufferers are measured by mental emotional disorders that are indicated by symptoms of depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, the prevalence of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, is 1.7 per 1,000 people or around 400,000 people.
From other data, the Ministry of Health shows that almost 90% of people cannot access mental health services. This country of more than 250 million people only has 48 mental hospitals. More than half of the number of mental health facilities is only in four provinces out of a total of 34 provinces.
Stigma, discrimination and the inability to recognize mental disorders are still major obstacles for people with psychosocial disabilities.
Mardiana as Secretary of the Galuh Nina Foundation revealed that all this time she had worked at the foundation, there were about 50 people who had been refused by their families to live together again. Most of them are now volunteers at the institution. According to Mardiana, most families turned out to be unprepared. The reason is from various factors, from economic downturn to negative environmental stigma.
Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Anung Sugihantono, said that mental health problems are still considered to be less serious than physical health.
“Often the perception of health – pain is only interpreted if we are unable to do something,” he said.
Even though according to him mental health is the same as physical health. If not treated, psychiatric disorders can threaten a person’s life. Therefore mental health problems cannot be considered trivial. It needs to be prevented and controlled by promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative efforts.
There is a need for comprehensive health efforts by encouraging inclusion and accountability of all development actors in an inclusive manner, not only based on health facilities, individuals and families, but also communities in one region.
Social Psychologist Juneman Abraham stated that clinical psychological approaches alone are not enough to embed this phenomenon. There needs to be further exploration through approaches from social psychology because mental health in fact also involves the socio-cultural dimension.
Junemam highlights the lives of city residents who are increasingly alienated from one another, ties or social cohesion slows down, then increases symptoms of depression, both mild and severe. This condition is bad for mental health. Therefore public space which accommodates real encounters between humans and restoring loose cohesion can be used as a solution to overcome mental health problems.
Some research suggests that direct social relations that increase in quantity and quality can make the mental condition of the city residents more stable, and keep them away from excessive depression.
* The author is a student at Khairun University