The service is provided to help students experiencing anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“We [the consultants] come from the School of Psychology at UNS, where we work as psychology lecturers,” said Berliana Widi Scarvanovi, coordinator of UNS' online psychology service as quoted by kompas.com. 

“We want to help students who may feel agitated and anxious due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they can improve their health, get on with their activities and think more clearly,” Berliana said.

She said students who wished to use the service could contact the unit to arrange an appointment. 

Berliana said anxiety could have a negative impact on a person’s health and affect the immune system.

Read also: Coronavirus anxiety is a thing: Here’s how to handle it

However, anxiety is a normal response from a person under a lot of stress, she added.

“Anxiety is not always bad. It is an alarm from our body that a danger is approaching. Being worried on a normal level is healthy, meaning that we are reminded [of being cautious],” she said.

Berliana said excessive worrying could prevent a person from thinking rationally, while during a crisis people were expected to think clearly and rationally. 

With the service, students are expected to be able to manage their stress on their own.

“This is not the type of consultation that will make the clients depend on us, we give them tips to manage their stress level. Being anxious is OK, but you have to stay healthy,” Berliana said. (gis/wng)

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