The disadvantages of self-diagnosis delivered by Putri Saraswati, M.Psi. (Photo: Istimewa) |
When facing problems, someone tends to feel depressed. It consequently leads them to stress when they do not have a solution, as said by the Psychology Lecturer of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Putri Saraswati, M.Psi., at UMMTalks. The podcast, held on June 9, 2023, raised the theme “Stress dan Depresi Berat, Cari Tahu Solusinya” (Trans.: Severely Stressed and Depressed, Find Out the Solution”).
The Lecturer, known as Putri, said that there are two types of an individual when they are aware of being depressed. Firstly, the one who deals with it positively by telling their problems to trusted people or professionals. Second, those who label themselves with ‘self-diagnosis.’
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“Furthermore, in this age of rapidly-spread information, psychology-related content often appears (in social media timelines), including the characteristics of stressed people. It makes us tend to label ourselves with ‘self-diagnosis’, which is inappropriate,” said the Lecturer.
Self-diagnosis will be more hazardous for someone because the ignorance of what is seriously happening to them makes them follow advice from social media whose accuracy is unclear yet. Finally, they end up doing unrelated and even more harmful things.
“Basically, every individual naturally has pressure, and they need it to learn how to respond to problems. It is just how they react, in a good or bad way. If the problem is responded to poorly, the individual will have pressure, contributing to stress and depression,” explained the UMM Psychology Service Center psychologist.
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As she explained, not all people can be aware of being depressed, especially those who are unfamiliar with it and do not understand. Several characteristics of depressed people are having frequent moodiness and feeling unexcited. The symptoms can eventually cause sleep deprivation, less nutritional intake, and negative energy.
When finding a friend or family like that, Putri advises the closest people to accompany and listen to their complaints. Primarily, depressed people cannot usually think clearly and tend to surround themselves with experienced problems.
Lastly, she also orders people not to be quickly affected by social media content, especially related to psychological disorders. It is because only professionals can diagnose whether someone is depressed or not.
“Starting from now, do not fill your mind with negative information because it will negatively impact (yourselves) psychologically and physically. Love yourselves more because you are the only one who is going to make it through the long day,” ended the Psychology Expert. (ri/wil)