Ramadan Without Emotional Explosion, Here's a Psychiatrist's Advice

BATAM - To maintain mental health during Ramadan, Psychiatrist (Psychiatrist) Revit Jayanti shared tips to be able to carry out fasting with calm without emotional disturbances that are detrimental to oneself and others.

According to him, the blessings contained in Ramadan actually bring peace to those who carry it out. There is emotion that is common, but if it is not controlled it will harm yourself and others, so it needs to be overcome.

"The first tip is to realize that being tired is not a sin. Admit if you feel tired," said Revit in Batam, Riau Islands (Kepri), Tuesday, February 17, as reported by ANTARA.

Revit explained that at the beginning of Ramadan, every individual must feel tired, because there is an adjustment in the human body, from eating three meals a day to eating once.

"Neurologically, the body during fasting undergoes changes, namely blood sugar decreases when you don't eat for several hours, the effect is easy to get tired, more emotionally sensitive," he said.

Then the change in cortisol (stress hormone) can increase at the beginning due to changes in sleep patterns and eating patterns.

Then the process of autophagy (cell cleaning). Fasting helps the process of cleaning cells, including brain cells, this supports the protection and repair of nerve cells and can increase Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which plays a role in cognitive function and emotion regulation.

"When emotions arise, they must be validated, why can emotions, recognize emotions," said Revit.

Most individuals do not know their emotions, this is influenced by the parenting pattern of parents since childhood. When a child cries, he is told to be quiet, so that the child does not know his emotions, why he is crying and what is the cause.

Therefore, when validating emotions, he continued, you can tell a trusted friend. Only, there are rarely friends who can be trusted 100 percent. For this reason, it is good to validate yourself or talk to yourself.

The second tip, he said, is to regulate energy by regulating sleep patterns and eating patterns. "So what is regulated is not just time, but energy also needs to be regulated by maintaining the eating pattern, and the sleeping pattern," said Revit.

The third tip, regulating the breathing technique, can be by drawing a breath as many as four counts, holding your breath for four counts, and releasing it for four counts. Or count 4-7-8 counts.

Another way to maintain mental health, he said, is to lower the standards of perfectionism, because the environment does not need it.

"For example, the working hours are over, but because we want this work to be done tomorrow so that it is judged to be the best, this must be lowered. It is better to go home, rest, worship. Likewise, for example, if you want to make breakfast for your child, then prepare it until 12 o'clock at night, even though it can be prepared the next morning," he said.

The next way, said Revit, namely positive self-talk, can be done by journaling, replacing negative sentences with positive ones.

"Talk to yourself, forgive others and yourself. Before going to bed, apologize to yourself, because you are a perfectionist, even though the environment does not ask for it, every night affirmations and apologizing to yourself," he said.

The last tip is spiritual me time, which can be done by reading the Quran, taraweh, and tadarus.