By Syahirah Nawawi
GOMBAK, 13 December 2021: As Malaysia is preparing to shift from pandemic to endemic status, a slew of issues and concerns arise, some are concerned with how individuals actually acclimatise themselves to the change and adapt to it.
With the insight and tips from two interrelated disciplines, mainly sociology and psychology perspectives, it might work to reduce the impact of the transition period.
Recently, a webinar “Living in an Endemic’, a socio-psychological perspective was held featuring two speakers, Dr. Pamilia Lourdunathan, Assist. Professor in AHAS Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, and Mrs Triana Rahmawati, a social activist and founder of Happiness Family in Surakarta, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia, discussing the subject.
Truly believing that the pandemic and endemic states impact the social lives of individuals Mrs. Triani said: “Changes in circumstances have forced the choice to live together.”
“People may be able to thrive during an endemic sociologically since humans have evolved into very adaptive species. But new effects could emerge such as dependence on technology that may result in a new standard being established in meeting the demands of society,” she said.
Dr. Pamilia further added that living as humans means “we are not separate from the community”. Therefore, she added “people start to be selective with shaping their identity and habits during the endemic”.
The example she gave was vloggers who had released a lot of useful content in which they provide social support to others, such as the Pomodoro method or known as ‘Study with Me’. She said that it is important to note that everyone has his or her own method of expressing themselves in this new norm.
Apart from that, the speakers also touched on the mental health aspect as the number of cases has increased within the society.
The social activist stated that the increasing data does not necessarily imply that it is negative, but it does suggest that people are becoming more aware of the significance of getting care for mental health issues.
Those comments suggest that individuals are being convinced to remove the stigma. Furthermore, persons who suffer from mental diseases will not feel alone because there are social interactions and those who are prepared to assist.
Even the number of people requesting assistance is decreasing not because they are unable to do so, but because they already know how to survive.
However, Dr. Pamilia suggested some tips for those who do not have access to mental health care. “First, feelings must be validated. Second, figure out how to communicate with those who have hurt you. Finally, make a list of all the nice things in life that you enjoy.”
“It’s all about how we manipulate our mindset,” she told the audience.
Despite that, Triani tackled the issue of imbalance in brain development faced by students due to the lack of social support. She explained that some families have little or no knowledge on how to help their children in having a conducive and efficient learning environment at home.
From psychology point of view, it is undeniable that the lack of social skills may affect one’s social skills, yet people have to bear in mind of other possible variables too. For instance, the experiences and their definition of self-worth. Besides, humans are creators of habits, therefore humans are highly adaptable.
Hence, human beings are unique creatures who are able to adapt and readjust themselves as we shift from pandemic to endemic as long as there are social support and a great mindset prevails.
The webinar was conducted live on 19 November and its recording can be accessed here.***