STEP 4: INTERVIEW WITH EXPERT

INTERVIEW EXPERT

On 20 January 2023, we interviewed an expert which is Madam Siti Norni Binti Daud. She is a counsellor who served at University Malaysia Pahang Pekan Campus for 7 years. Besides a counsellor she is an instructor who teaches at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering.With all her experience, we chose her as an expert to give her opinion on the issue of mental health problems of University students. During this interview, we asked a few questions related to this issue. So, in this part we're going to talk about an information we got from her.

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1.First impression about student mental health

    

  According to Madam Norni, she said University students are getting worse day by day especially since all university already start their learning by face to face. Before this, students are conduct online learning session. They didn´t meet their friends and their lecturer for 2 years. Maybe some of them already comfortable with this way. So, after they start a physical session they will have some problem such as anxiety to talk in front people, insecure and didn´t have a confidence. Some of them also will overthinking because they feel like their friends will judging them from their appearances, their vocal inflection, attractiveness and so on.

2.Factor of university student mental health getting worse

   According to interview, she has 3 points of factor why student mental health getting worse. the first point she said university student´s mental health can become worse because of the environment issue. This is because even our country already in an endemic phase of covid 19 it doesn´t mean our country didn´t have any covid cases yet. so, some student can get an anxiety because they scared if they or their close people getting affected by covid 19. Her second points are maybe some university student getting worse because of their past history. maybe some of them had any traumatise situation or dark side of their childhood life such as cases of abuse, bullying, broken family and etc. from all the problem and experienced maybe they had feels like had a `unfinish business´. They had a grudge with someone and they will brought this feeling untill they grow up. The third point is because of factor family genetic. As an example, we look like that people is an excellent student but actually at the same time they had a mental illness problem. This thing happens maybe because their family such as mother, father, uncle, grandparents or etc had a mental health problem like anxiety. So, the students had big potential to have an anxiety too.

3.SOLUTION TO OVERCOME UNIVERSITY STUDENT MENTAL HEATH ISSUE

    For this part, Madam Norni already suggest 4 points for students to overcome their mental health issue. The first point is students must take care their mental health first. According to her, what student can do is seek for helps. Student can meet a caunselor to get an advice and seek for a solution for their problem. But if their mental health is getting worst they must consult a therapy from a psychiatrist and after that psychiatrist will decide what treatment you should get. Then, for the second point, Madam Norni suggest for student to have a healthy lifestyle. All students must have a `me time´ at least 5 minutes per day. They can do anything they want such as playing sports, take a ride, hang out with their or anything can release their tension. This can help them to avoid a tension and make them become more calmed. Other than that, a third point is they must find a partner or best friend. They need to find a partner who can always give support, give an advice and always be with them when they had problem. As a good friend, they must help each other and never judging or mocking them because everyone didn´t experience a same situation and problem. 

4. MOST OF STUDENT SCARED TO SHARE THEIR PROBLEM WITH CAUNSELOR BECAUSE THEY THOUHT IT WILL REVEAL THEIR WEAKNESS.WHAT EXPERT THINK ABOUT THIS STUDENT PERSPECTIVE.

According to her point view, as represent other caunselor, she said student dont need scared to meet a caunselor to share their problem or to ask for solution. She know many student had this kind of thinking because they always hear a bad perspective about caunselor from their friends since they in a highschool. So for a solution she said, student must know caunselor at university and highschool are different. A caunselor at university had a license and practice certification record. Once a caunselor reveal a students problem and break a clients policy, students had right to make report and take an action on the caunselor. So dont be scared to consult with them if students had a mental health problem.