Step 5 narrative essay

 Step 5 - Discuss the interviewee's view and group discussion to choose the best solution. 

Written by Lim Qian Qian

Interviewee’s view

            Covid-19 has brought changes to our lives and disrupted our daily routines. Since the pandemic has affected the world, many of us are now living and fear and anxiety due to the uncertainty in life as all of our plans have been disrupted by this pandemic. As shown in the statistics we found on Vox’s website, the symptoms of anxiety and depression rise when the number of weekly Covid-19 cases increases. This can show that Covid-19 pandemic has indeed affected our mental health negatively. Thus, we have to emphasize this issue so that we can raise mental health awareness amidst this pandemic.

            Through this interview session, we get to see how the pandemic affects a student with the lockdowns and constrictions. With the Movement Control Order (MCO), students are unable to go back to school and online studying is carried out. Living with fear and anxiety from the virus and the addition of stress coming from examinations, the mental health of students are also affected in this pandemic.

Our interviewee has chosen solution number 2 as the best solution, which is “we have to learn how to deal with stress.” The interviewee chose this solution because the solution is easier to carry out compared to other solutions. Other than that, people can carry out this solution by using the resources they already have at home. Moreover, learning to deal with stress is highly useful for us as we can use it when we face problems in our life.

Group Discussion

A group discussion was held to select the best solution. Each of us has chosen a solution that we think is the best beforehand. The solution that we chose includes: Practice self-care, improve access to mental healthcare, surround ourselves with good people and avoid things that will affect your health. As practicing self-care is related to avoiding things that will affect our health, we decided to rule out these solutions. While surrounding ourselves with good people and improve access to mental healthcare are left, we all discussed their pros and cons. At last, we chose "improve access to mental healthcare" as the best solution because this solution can really help people who are facing mental health issues during this pandemic. This solution can also help people get access to mental services even though staying at home during this pandemic. Other than that, improving access to mental health is the most effective and useful solution among all of the solutions.