PETALING JAYA: Debt issues, family and marriage problems, relationship breakdowns and work pressure have been identified as factors that led to suicide among young Malaysians.
A report on “Youth Suicide in Malaysia” found that between March 18 and Oct 30 last year, one in four of the 266 suicide cases involved youngsters aged between 15 and 18.
The report, which focused on youth suicide in Malaysia and provided policy recommendations for its prevention, was published by Relate Mental Health Malaysia in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) on Feb 19.
It stated that the rising number of suicides during the Covid-19 pandemic is worrying.
As
the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Malaysia, mental health issues are taking a growing toll across the
country.
Like
in much of the world, social isolation, economic insecurity and the loss of
loved ones have become major drivers of anxiety, depression, stress and other
challenges.
But
in Malaysia, mental health problems were already on the rise. Government
statistics show rates of mental health issues have tripled over the past two
decades and the economic impact on the country is expected to surge to US$6
trillion by 2030. According to the 2019 National Health and Morbidity survey, roughly half a million people in
Silence encourages the tormentor, not the tormented. 123.rf
WHILE it is not widely discussed in a conservative society like Malaysia, being at the receiving end of sexual harassment or domestic violence can have a great impact on the mental health of male survivors since most of them suffer in silence, says Malaysian Mental Health Association president and consultant psychiatrist Professor Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj.
Anxiety, depression, low self esteem, and poor work performance are common among survivors, says Dr Andrew. One of the causes of distress is societal pressure and stigma, where male survivors often become objects of ridicule as it is seen to be “unmanly” to report such incidents.
This is especially to cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on our mental health.
Even under normal circumstances, Malaysia needs more human resources in this field to meet the needs of the population, says Malaysian Mental Health Association president Prof Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj.
“Many professionals are also focused in urban areas particularly the Klang Valley and Penang, ” says Dr Mohanraj.
However, compared to many other countries in the region, he notes that Malaysia has better accessibility to mental health care.
“With the effects of the pandemic, our resources are going to be further stretched particularly with regards to psychologists and counsellors, ” he says.