By Salawati Haji Yahya –
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, SEPT 22 – In this modern age, even with all the advances in technology at a level never seen before and modern health treatment facilities that are growing, we are faced with a big challenge which is the increase in mental health problems.
What is more worrying is that the trend is not only happening in Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia, but it is happening all over the world and it should not be taken for granted or ignored, stressed the guest speaker, Muhammad Tarmizi bin Abdul Wahid while delivering the inaugural lecture entitled The Importance of Mindfulness: Prioritizing Mental Health in the Modern World at the 2024 Knowledge Council held at the International Conference Center, Berakas, yesterday.
According to him, more and more people today are beginning to gradually realize that they themselves are affected by mental health problems or realize that people beside them are experiencing it silently or clearly.
He explained why mental health is a priority in life because it has been proven in many studies that a person’s happiness and well-being lies in their mental health status.
If a person’s mental health is poor, he added, it will affect career, household, learning and life in general.
He added that today’s challenges that are often thrown include depression, stress, anxiety and trauma.
He also stressed that such issues should not be taken lightly because they can affect anyone regardless of whether they are students, employees, housewives, husbands and so on.
According to him, the challenges that exist in terms of mental health are too many and complex and it requires us to read and study more and reduce judgments made on the basis of emotion and ignorance.
In his talk, Muhammad Tarmizi also shared the prayer to get rid of anxiety and debt entanglement taught by the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
In this life, he said, one of the main ways to overcome most problems is to help others, there is no better way to treat the heart than giving back to the community.
Although the logic is, we are depressed and need help, but when we stop thinking only for our own interests and change mindset to ‘who do I need to help’, then rest assured that when we help others, Allah will open a space and show us a way out of all the problems and difficulties we face.
In addition, he said, psychological stress and anxiety can be cured by reading the Quran and reflecting on its meaning.
