Risk of Severe Stress In Failing Candidates Post-Election

A 5 ANNUAL TRADITION FULL OF RISKS

On February 14 2024, Indonesia held simultaneous elections as a 5-year agenda. In this election, presidential and vice presidential candidates, DPR RI, DPD, DPRD level I candidates and level II DPRD legislative candidates were selected.

The campaign period begins on January 1 2024, and the legislative candidate contestants in particular are starting to compete to attract as much public attention as possible so that they will be known by the public and want to vote for them.

Various tricks ranging from making campaign equipment such as billboards, banners, banners, business cards, flyers, t-shirts, gimmicks and others, this means that there is capital that must be provided and spent to pay for printing costs, and services for volunteers who install them. and pass it on.

THE HIGHER THE CAPITAL - THE HEAVIER THE STRESS WHEN YOU FAIL

Even though the slogan of fairness was coined, READY TO WIN - READY TO LOSE, perhaps it is just jargon for some legislative candidates who are full of ambition to spend money to support their campaigns, it is even said that quite a few legislative candidates are willing to spend money with borrowed money too.

Such a huge ambition to become a legislative candidate could potentially destroy the emotional/mental health of legislative candidates who fail when the KPU has completed its calculation results.

Post Election Stress Disorder or translated as Post Election Stress Disorder where there is a spike in excessive anxiety after the Election. This excessive anxiety is a common symptom of all legislative candidates who fail, especially when the vote count has reached above 80% while the number of votes supporting them has not yet increased drastically to reach the predetermined parliamentary threshold.

Apart from anxiety, there were also symptoms of accusatory and slanderous attitudes, irritability, and pessimism, leading to depression and hallucinations.

HANDLING STRESS CONDITIONS

Legislative candidates who are at high risk of experiencing acute mental disorders after failure are usually those who have spent a lot of funds and even exceeded their own financial capabilities, to the point of getting into debt or borrowing money from banks or online loans. If this legislative candidate is unable to pay off his loan debt, then this will aggravate his mental and emotional condition which will worsen after the election. Meanwhile, legislative candidates who fail but do not spend much money will only have a small risk of experiencing mental disorders.

Symptoms of excessive anxiety, irritability, depression and even hallucinations are psychiatric symptoms that need immediate treatment. As with depression, if you don't get immediate treatment from a doctor, it will lead to the desire to commit suicide or end your life.

Perhaps it is mandatory for legislative candidates to first have Health Insurance such as the Healthy Indonesia Card or private health insurance, so that it is easier to immediately access the nearest health services.

Currently, there are many health facilities that can provide therapy services for patients who experience the symptoms of the mental disorders above. Consultations with general practitioners, mental health specialists and psychologists can be done face to face or online via telemedicine. And now health services are increasingly integrated and patients can easily get referral services to advanced health facilities to get specialized services to inpatient care specifically for patients with mental disorders.

Hopefully, in the election period in the next five years, prospective contestants will have prepared themselves and mentally better, and understand that in a legislative election contestation they must be ready to win and ready to lose.