PROMICANJE MENTALNOG ZDRAVLJA U FUNKCIJI OSNAŽIVANJA OBITELJI – IZAZOVI PANDEMIJE I (POST)COVID19 KRIZE
PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE FUNCTION OF FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PANDEMIC AND (POST) COVID-19 CRISIS CHALLENGES

Summary/Abstract: World Health organization (WHO, 2014) defines mental health as a state of well-being in which the individual is able to realize their potentials, is able to cope with daily and sudden life stress, can work productively and is able to make contribution to both family and community. With the respect for health’s significance at personal, family, and social level, we have started a forum discussion on the topic of “Promoting mental health in the function of family empowerment –pandemic and (post) COVID-19 crisis challenges” as a part of university course Family and the Prevention of Risk and Asocial Behaviors via Zoom and Merlin platforms. All first year (N=23) and second year (N=20) both single and double major Pedagogy students participated in the discussion. Discussion took place during a three-week period which provided enough time to define the problem as well as the differences in the approaches to family support. The following questions were used to spark the discussion: Do you think that the pandemic will leave a long-lasting effect on your mental health? Have you identified undesirable behaviors among other young people related to pandemic? Which protective measures do you use in order to maintain/empower mental health and what do you suggest for the creation process of primary activities used for its improvement? Based on the qualitative analysis of the discussion, it can be concluded that events which occurred during the pandemic reflected on a high number of young adults, a phenomenon which is described through: long-lasting feeling of fear for one’s own as well as their family members’ life, uncertainty regarding the continuation of study as well as fulfilling its requirements, the lack of social and physical interactions, the feeling of isolation and loneliness, the feel of lack of control over their lives and decisions. Moreover, some of the singled out protective factors are: time spent with the family, mutual support and togetherness as well as finding humor in crisis situations. Education regarding the importance of empowering family togetherness and communication as well as mutual support represents an important factor for the creation of mental health protection strategies. Due to the fact that neither National Strategy for Mental Health Protection was passed nor did the previous one singled out the importance of education in the promotion of mental health not only for the ill, but for everybody, this paper contributes not only to the need to ponder about, but also to implement pedagogical notions as well as education in mental health protection system.

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