“It is better to be bankrupt than dead”. These are the words of Mr. Siri Voravetvuthikun, the Thai multi-millionaire turned sandwich peddler. He is probably one of the thousands of former tycoons, moguls and barons of South-East Asia who, with one stroke- of the invisible hand, have gone from riches to rags.
Mr. Voravetvuthikun’s courage and determination in facing the current economic turbulence is a marvelous example many of us should emulate. The never-say-die attitude, the positive thinking and the holding on to the “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going” maxim.
His willingness to venture into a new, albeit unpretentious line of work has saved him from possible annihilation. Barely five months after the inevitable switch, his sandwich business is now worth a few million dollars. Theoretically, he is now back to being a millionaire again.
Of course, many others have not been as lucky as the sandwich-man. Although we are furnished daily with facts and figures on the latest state of the health of the country’s economy, the more subtle effects on the psychology of the people remained obscure.
Very few reports have focussed on how Malaysians are coping with the stress which they are presently going through. Thus far, we have been fortunate that, unlike some other countries facing the current economic meltdown, cases of suicide have almost been unheard of. Perhaps no news means good news here.
It seems therefore, that Malaysians are taking things in their strides. Perhaps the words of comfort and confidence from both local and international political leaders, economists and financiers have provided the psychological support much sought after by the troubled hearts and minds in this country.
The latest being the Prime Minister’s assertion that Malaysia can reemerge as the region’ s economic powerhouse through a close local and foreign corporate sector cooperation, and with a clear vision and proactive strategies.
And this week, Standard and Poor’s report says that this country is a relative pillar of strength among the East Asian countries, as it has been able to stabilise the economy; despite the massive currency depreciation in the late 1997.
Or maybe, the rough and tough Malaysians, a genre envisaged in the second challenge of Vision 2020 is already in the making. Just to get us back on the trail, this challenge is about creating a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian Society with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably, proud of what it is, of what it has accomplished, and robust enough to face all manner of adversity.
During the time of crisis, many have proposed the need to draw from our inner strength. But what is this intrinsic strength? Do we all have it? How do we benefit from it? Yes, the inner strength is already built-in within us. It actually resides in our head. We sometimes take it for granted, though.
The brain and the mind are probably the assets many of us tend to underutilise. It has an almost boundless ability. The number of cells dedicated to the brain per se is in the region of hundreds of trillion. If one cell is equated to one byte of the computing memory, then with the human brain we are dealing with a system in the range of terabytes.
Can you imagine the possible permutations that can be derived from a computing power of such magnitude? Added to this, the brain cells can perform both parallel and serial or hierarchical processing without much fuss. In term s of computing power it is the ideal machine.
The brain is also where our life resides. Even medical practitioners now accept the fact that if you are brain dead, then you are truly gone. The beating of the heart and the rhythmic breathing are mere physical manifestation of life.’ You can use machines to make them happen.
But as for the brain, once it stops functioning, thus far, there is no way of bringing it back to life again. If your heart, lungs, kidneys or pancreas fail you, there is a possibility of going for a transplant. But, if the brain fouls up, transplant is out of the question.
Thus, everyone of us, barred the most unfortunate few, is blessed with this dream machine in our head. There is no outlay involved. The cost of using it is also negligible. Mostly, it just needs the oxygen from the air that we breathe in for free, and the nutrition which we naturally take to satisfy our hunger. Who ever thinks about providing nutrients to our internal organs when we consume food?
Therefore the most pressing task we are faced with is to strengthen the brain’s software, that is the mind. Make sure that we do not lose it. How do you do this? Being depressed is one way of risking losing our minds. That is the time when one feels that life is not worth living. At the time, everything which used to be pleasurable becomes absolutely nonchalant.
Depression is manifested in many forms, from seasonal depressions that come and go with the short days of the haze, to chronic depression that lingers for months. Among the symptoms of clinical depression are weight loss, early waking, diminished sex drive and general hopelessness.
However, not everyone going through the blues have depression. Feelings of sadness, frustration and unhappiness are normal reactions to real-life problems. This include a painful loss, a failed relationship and personal conflicts. These conditions are referred to by the psychiatrists as “adjustment disorders”.
A simple rule -of thumb differentiates between the relatively harmless “adjustment dis order” and the potentially harmful depression. If the symptom gradually clears up as the problem subsides, then it is most probably the former. Otherwise, clinical depression may prove to be the most possible diagnosis.
It has been said that many of us have gone through one form of depression or another. At any one time, it is estimated that ten percent’ of Malaysians are going through the depression.
This is not surprising. Looking at the suicidal way some Malaysians drive the car, which is one the probable symptom of depression, the ten percent figure is grossly underestimated. Furthermore, in the current economic situation, there are reasons to believe that depression is always on the lurk.
The brain consists of complex groups of cells which, most of the time, communicate with one another through chemical messengers. The chemicals which also regulates the functioning of the brain need to be kept in balance. If not, the brain may be “disregulated” (contrast from deregulated).
Chemical imbalances may occur due to certain stimuli from the environment. The way we perceive changes in the environment, such as the movement of the stock market index, the foreign exchange rates, the trade figures, or even the smile of a beautiful lass, will cause some temporary changes in the brain’s chemical balance.
It is imperative that this balance be quickly restored. Otherwise, the persistent stimulus can become a stressful one and the disregulation of the brain becomes irreversible. This downward spiral may be unstoppable.
Thus, the most important thing is to realise s that when the stimulus hits, the brain must be strong enough to withstand the pressure. A strong mind can alleviate the effects of the stimulus. This strong mind is built through conscious evaluation of oneself. It is time to stop for a while and think about how to use the trillion bits of information which we already have incorporated into our brains.
Every one of us have gone through life, and have seen what is good and what is not. We have been barraged by television and radio messages on how to deal with this life. From health to information technology. From nature to robotics. We actually have a lot of the much needed input in our brain. Now is the time to use it.
For example, in moments of hardship, gather all your attention to perform only the rational acts. Avoid thinking negatively. Whatever stimulus that goes into the brain, use it to your advantage. Should you start to have that sinking feeling, quickly call out for help.
Drug therapy is now available for professionally diagnosed depressed patients. Nine out of ten cases are responsive to this form of treatment. One other way of getting over the blues is through what is known as religious psychotherapy. For Muslims, this can include sessions such as reading the Holy Quran and performing prayers. In any case, it is best to go back to using our brain and mind more often. After all, cash is not king. The brain IS.