Taking Care of Plants, Taking Care of Souls

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Mental health patients and their caregivers assemble for an agricultural training workshop on Friday (9/10/2020) in the courtyard of Banyumas Regional General Hospital in Central Java.

Standing under a leafy mango tree, seven men and three women practicing farming. The instructions from an instructor are followed obediently. However, sometimes someone says: “Assalamualaikum [peace be upon you], honey.”

There are also those who grab their friend’s equipment. There are those who uproot the weeds in the garden to be planted in the polybag plastic. With the farming therapy, the patients at Mental Health Service Banyumas General Hospital (RSUD Banyumas) are encouraged to be revived.

“Good afternoon,” said one of the instructors opening the training session. The patients refuted: “It is morning, sir. Not afternoon!” The instructor then laughed and said: “Yes, that is right, this is morning, not afternoon. So, you are all recovered.”

Also read: Maintaining Activity and Positive Thinking amid Pandemic

Meanwhile, another instructor tried to recite a riddle: What is the result of 76 minus 1? Some patients answered: 75 sir. The instructor then answered, no. It is 11. “You know the 76 cigarrete, it has 12 cigarettes in a box, doesn’t it? If you subtract 1, the remainder is 11,” said the instructor who was greeted by howl from the patients.

With some nurses and doctors, the patients seemed enthusiastic about participating in the farming training. They were introduced and invited to prepare planting medium by mixing fertilizer, merang (rice bran) and coconut fibers. Some patients did it with their hands, some others did it with trowel. After that, they put the planting medium into polybag plastic and moved the vegetable seeds that have been prepared.

“Tomorrow, once you are home and you don’t have polybag plastics, you can use used single-use plastics,” said one of the instructor.

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Mental health patients and their caregivers practice making organic fertilizer on Friday (9/10/2020) at Banyumas Regional General Hospital in Central Java.

After preparing the planting medium and watering it, they practiced to make organic fertilizer. Leaf litter that has been chopped, is mixed with water from washing rice and then stored for a week in perforated plastic. The training did not end there, instructors and the equipment for cultivation of vegetables with a hydroponic system were also prepared by RSUD Banyumas. In this session, the patients were introduced to irrigation system, nutrition and seeding.

“I learned gardening earlier. Before I felt bored and wanted to go home, but it changed. The advantages of gardening are very valuable, relieving stress and increasing knowledge,” said one of the male patients with initials MT (35), Friday (9/10/2020).

The same thing is shared by another male patient with initials An (24). He claimed that he was happy to practice farming. He admitted that he had only come to RSUD Banyumas for a few days escorted by his relatives because he was often restless and forgetful. “I used to work in a hotel in Bekasi. I was often confused and forgetful. Here I want to cure myself,” said An.

A practical therapy which can nourish their body and soul and hopefully can increase their income

Also read: Shining a Light on Mental Health

Head of Mental Health Service Installation (Yankeswa) of RSUD Banyumas, Hilma Paramita said that, the gardening therapy for patients was held in order to celebrate World’s Mental Health Day 2020.

“This gardening therapy was chosen because it is local in Banyumas. We looked for an activity that can be utilized by the patients at their houses later. A practical therapy which can nourish their body and soul and hopefully can increase their income,” said Hilma.

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Mental health patients and their caregivers transplant plants into plastic bags during an agricultural training workshop on Friday (9/10/2020) at Banyumas Regional General Hospital in Central Java.

Hilma said, patients with mental disorders are often stigmatized in society, making it difficult for them to find a job. “They are stigmatized. Sometimes it is difficult for them to get a job. If they were empowered and experienced destigmatization, it would certainly make them accepted by their environment,” said her.

In RSUD Banyumas, said Hilma, there are 70 patients with mental disorders who are hospitalized. Ten patients who received this training in gardening were chosen because they were able to communicate with other people.

Also read: Fix the Chaotic System

“They begin to be communicative. They are actually not fully recovered. However, we train them slowly through exercise activities and gardening to stimulate their conditions to be better,” said her.

During this pandemic, many people experience depression because they have lost something they love.

Depression during Pandemic

Citing from World Health Organization (WHO) data in 2016, there are around 21 million people in the world suffering from schizophrenia. While according to the result of Basic Health Research by Ministry of Health in 2018, the national prevalence rate for serious mental disorders in Indonesia is 7 per 1,000 population.

Mental Health Specialist Doctor, Basiran said, because of pandemic, more and more people are depressed. Basiran cited the findings of Indonesia Association of Mental Health Specialists, stating that the prevalence rate for mental disorders in society is 11.6 percents before pandemic, but during pandemic it increased to 57.6 percents.

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Several patients receiving mental health treatment prepare a growing medium during an agricultural training workshop on Friday (9/10/2020) at Banyumas Regional General Hospital in Central Java. The activity is part of the patients’ therapeutic treatment.

“During pandemic many people experience depression because they have lost something that they love. The things that the love are: chance or time to go out and to work outside, and so on,” said Basiran.

According to Basiran, there are three causes of mental disorders, namely organic, psycho-education and stressor or problems. For instance, someone have an accident, then bleeding in the brain. That organ is hit. Or there are other diseases that are systemic.

“Second, psycho-educative methods, how mother’s parenting pattern in the first 0-5 years. It determines how a person has personality tendencies. If these developing stages are good, someone can be mature, normal, have good well-being and is always ready to face problems. Third, stressor or problems that are faced everyday,” said him.

Also read: Vegetable Patches Provide Fresh Views for Citizens

During pandemic many people experience depression because they have lost something that they love.

In the middle of this Covid-19 pandemic, said Basira, in order to stay healthy mentally, besides following the health protocol and struggling to meet basic needs, people also need to strengthen their faith and surrender. In the contexts of Javanese culture, nrimo (surrender) contains the meaning of being grateful, full of hope, and still fighting as optimally as possible.

Together with the mustard, eggplants and lettuce seeds which had just been planted by the patients, there is also a hope for the soul to grow, develop, and bear and at the same time to benefit others. Through caring for plants, they are also invited to take care of their souls.