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A black and white photograph of a man descending down a spiral staircase
Source: B.L. Acker

The Surviving Mind — Today is A Gift

Picture of Lim Chai Jin

Lim Chai Jin

"People often pray for a better tomorrow, little did they realise today makes the difference”. Being a second-year medical student, Chai Jin believes that dreams should never be postponed.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” “Step out of your comfort zone,” “You will be fine,” such so-called motivating quotes have never failed to crop up in our sight, be it on our social media pages, our daily conversations with acquaintances, or even loved ones.

There is no doubt that these phrases were meant to inspire people to achieve better goals and thus secure a better life, yet, the reality is that such blanket quotes do not always apply a similar effect on every entity, especially those who are experiencing mental difficulties. For this community, the blanket quotes appear as statements that lack acceptance, empathy, and understanding instead. 

Let’s focus on the most discussed mental illness: depression. Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days; it is a sense of unhappiness and hopelessness that causes a loss of interest, which affects daily activities for weeks, months, or more extended periods. On top of psychological thoughts, people who are depressed experience biological symptoms of fatigue, loss of appetite, sleeping disruption, headaches, agitation, and the list goes on.

Depression is a worldwide illness that affects 280 million people, according to the data collected from World Health Organisation, together with a report produced by World Psychiatric Association Commission. In Malaysia, as of March 2022, out of all the calls via the ministry’s psychosocial helpline, 74.3% of them were due to stress and depression, with suicide rates spiking in the year of 2022, spotting 1142 cases in simply a year out there. Many might interpret such statistics as another group of people who can’t manage stress well; we might diminish their problems by saying “if they start adjusting their thoughts, things will naturally get better.” Yet, those suffering do not see an end to their situation, which leads to my discussion of the various root causes of depression that make these situations endless.

Source: Garima Rathor

Depression is more than a medical or psychological illness; it can even be caused by inevitable life events such as bereavement, life-threatening illnesses, divorce, bankruptcy, or even discrimination. Most of the time, people who experience such a depressive situation often describe that they are in this “downward spiral” where nothing goes right. To illustrate, a divorced woman who is unemployed has lost her financial support, leading to a worsened living environment in which she might deal with the stress of making ends meets, thus lack time to mingle with her family and friends. Facing these burdens, she might look toward alcohol to destress and might suffer from chronic liver disease due to excessive consumption. This disease might then bring more mental burden and awful thoughts, and the negative loop continues. 

There is not a single issue that could be solved directly in terms of this exemplified depressive case; it needs interventions from all perspectives, be it from social, financial, or medical sides. We should also acknowledge that it is difficult for the woman in the example to identify the root cause of her problem because she has been stuck in the loop for such a long time.

There are undeniably all sorts of interventional and pharmaceutical treatments to alleviate this mental condition, encompassing antidepressants like the commonly-seen selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or even the use of magnetic stimulation of the brain in persistent severe cases, yet the suggested initial treatment for depression will always be cognitive behavioural therapy to directly reveal the root causes behind the negative loop. We are often too overwhelmed when having to juggle ten things at once, yet when we start breaking the problems down into smaller parts and set a prioritisation list to tackle them with all sorts of resources, the situation tends to improve. Cognitive behavioural therapy utilises the interconnection of thoughts, feelings, and physical actions and guides the patient to deal with their problems step-by-step and mitigate the negative downward spiral. 

On top of that, there has always been an unintentional neglect of the fundamental ways we communicate and interact with people experiencing depression. Communication should always aim to be therapeutic, or at least, un-offensive. Such skills involve active listening, the absence of judgement, proper extremities positions, paraphrasing, being respectful, and being silent when necessary. One crucial example is that when we are trying to dig up more root causes of depression, a “why” question is less preferred due to the fact that it’s a close-ended question. Leading questions should also be avoided since we do not want to impose a personal stance on a private issue. It is equally significant to demonstrate a sense of understanding to the person so they realise they are not the “weird” ones out there and will consequently feel less of being a lone “island” in their community. 

That being said, showing people who are experiencing mental health difficulties that they are not alone is easier said than done. UKEC’s annual flagship, [i]MPACT Stories, has always strived to provide a platform for speakers from all walks of life to share, embrace, and empower students in the UK and Ireland. We can only live once; yet, by sneaking into a small conversation and having a quick look at other’s encounters, we get different views and tastes of life in that time-limited, one-way train journey. 

Sometimes when we are face-to-face with obstacles that seemingly have no solution, we tend to feel frustrated, stressed out, helpless, and despaired. It might even feel like the end of the world. Yet, by hearing the stories of others, not only will we find out that there have been the same issues lingering in the community, but there are also people who have dealt with it, people who are currently dealing with it, and people who have been experiencing the same issue but on more extreme levels yet still manage to be optimistic about life.

Yesterday was a history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, thats why its called “present”. It is the encounters and reflections we build from yesterday, together with the dreams we have for tomorrow that make up the foundation for us to actually take solid actions today to live the best life we want to. 

This year’s [i]MPACT Stories is themed “Defining Hope: Another Perspective of Life.” It is more than just another student event; it is a moment where people stop and ponder about the meaning of being alive, and from thereon, be clear about what they want to achieve, and thus start figuring ways and taking solid actions to drag themselves out of their own spirals.


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