Reports in the mass media about suicide have drawn public attention, especially when the suicide victims are young people. Based on the research conducted by Researcher at the Center for Public Health and Nutrition Research, Health Research Organization – BRIN, Yurika Fauzia Wardhani, from 2012 to 2023, 985 of 2,112 suicide cases in Indonesia occurred in teenagers or around 46.63 % of the total.
Such behavior is caused by psychological problems or high stress levels. Therefore, it is important to find out more about the causes of stress that provoke suicide. According to UI Clinical Psychology expert, Dini Rahma Bintari, S.Psi., M.Psi., Ph.D., Psychologist, stress is considered a situation that is the result of interactions between individuals and their surrounding environments and causes a gap between the demands of a situation with the abilities of an individual’s biological, psychological or social system.
She said that the gap between demands and abilities can be actual, or just an individual’s unrealistic perception of themselves and their environment. Daily problems, conflicts with other people, frustration, and trauma are also types of stress. “Every day we face challenges from the environment which we can perceive as stressors. For example, we have to stand with traffic jams, hassles at home, troubles at the office, or conflicts with friends and relatives,” said Dini.
In fact, not all things that might cause stress can make someone stressed. There is a long process for a person to be stressed or cause unusual behavior, or behavior that causes trouble for themselves and others. The duration and frequency of stress can impact how severe the stress is. How individuals perceive the severity of the stressor and how well they are dealing with it also determines whether the stressor will trigger higher levels of stress.
“If we want to improve our ability to deal with stress, we need to recognize and manage our stress,” said Dini. Stress has a different impact on each person. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the changes in ourselves when undergoing stress.
Dini, who is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology UI, explained that there are four types of stress impacts, which are emotions, thoughts, physical, and behavior. These impacts can occur simultaneously although each person has a different pattern. There are people whose feelings are impacted, but their performance is not. However, severe stress usually has a major impact on all four types.
“Stress is encountered through several stages and has a major impact on someone’s life. If we recognize the stages of stress, we can tackle it earlier so it doesn’t deeper impact on ourselves,” said Dini. There are five stages of stress, such as the stage of facing the stressor, perception towards the stressor, and managing emotional responses, then it begins to have an impact on physical conditions and more severe consequences.
One of the serious consequences of untreated stress is greater aggressiveness, such as suicide and murder. Negative emotions, such as untreated anger and disappointment, can reduce self-control and the ability to think logically. It also impacts the ability to choose the right action when dealing with problems. Personality pattern also determines the actions taken when people experience stress.
People who keep problems to themselves and feel powerless in facing their environment are more likely to harm themselves. Meanwhile, people who tend to be expressive and fierce are more likely to be aggressive towards other people and may commit murder. However, people who seem quiet may have an indecent mindset due to stress, and this condition makes them murder because it will solve their problems.
“All incidents certainly do not occur for a single reason, so we have to examine comprehensively from different points of view for each problem. Stress is not the only cause of criminal acts or self-harm. As a human being, we need to support each other so we do not experience stress constantly and prevent it become more acute. Try to understand what others might feel and make our surroundings comfortable,” said Dini.
According to Dini, a social environment that has friendly relationships supports psychological and physical health. Good communication skills will also make society better and reduce crime. There are many things you can do to reduce stress in the environment, such as socializing, playing sports, or providing food for those in need.
