H

ana “Madness” Alfikih, 26, was a girl everyone deemed the troubled one several years ago. Growing up in a religious family, Hana was always angry and dissatisfied with everything, especially her overprotective parents.

During junior high school, her emotions frequently spiraled out of control. She felt so depressed that all she wanted to do was rebel against her parents.

“I often hurt myself, cried, screamed, cursed and refused to go home. I faced a lot of pressure at home as my parents forbade me to do a lot of things,” Hana told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

When her parents realized that her attitude was more than just teenage angst, they started to think that she was possessed by an evil spirit. Hana’s parents then brought her to an ustadz (Islamic teacher) to perform ruqyah (spiritual healing) on her.

The attempt was futile as Hana’s mental health worsened. In high school, she could not function well and had to switch schools several times as she found it impossible to concentrate on her studies.

Hana used most of her time in school to draw in her sketchbook to vent her emotions.

It was only in 2010, that her parents took her to a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with schizophrenia, after she said she constantly heard sounds and saw hallucinations.

She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2012, she suffered a breakdown and was treated in a psychiatric ward in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) in Jakarta.

Deciding that she would rather end her misery, Hana took all of the drugs the hospital had prescribed her, causing an overdose that left her unconscious for three days.

However, that was the moment that Hana, exhausted from her illness, bounced back.

“I was so tired, so I decided to accept my condition and run into my art. I slowly realized that art could help me make a living,” she said.

Hana then decided to pursue a career in drawing. The work paid off, with her becoming Indonesia’s delegate at the Unlimited Festival in London, last year.

In a seminar about World Bipolar Day, conducted by the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Psychiatrists’ Association (PDSKJI Jaya) on Tuesday, Hana said she hoped more people could become more aware of the disorder.

PDSKJI member Hervita Diatri said the prevalence of bipolar disorder in the world was 2.4 percent, with one out of every four people with the illness committing suicide.

Knowing the cause of bipolar disorder is still quite challenging as it could be caused by biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual factors, she said.

Hervita said the prevalence of bipolar disorder in Jakarta and other big cities might be the same as rural areas. However, the condition of people with bipolar disorder in big cities might be worse because of the easy access to drugs and the lack of social support.

She added that people might see people with bipolar disorder as lebay (overreacting) because of the way they express their emotions. “Many people still don’t know about bipolar disorder; therefore, they correlate the disorder with overreacting. Telling someone ‘lebay’ is not enough to solve the problem. They’d better bring the person to an appropriate place to get treatment,” she said.

Currently, treatment of mental illness is covered by the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

The only problem is that bipolar disorder is not classified as a chronic disease, like schizophrenia, so medication for patients can only be given for a week.

As a result, patients must visit the hospital more than once a month to get medicine, she said.

PDSKJI Jakarta head Nova Riyanti Yusuf said she hoped the government could include bipolar disorder as a chronic disease.

Therefore, patients could access medications more easily, she said.