Search

Fatimah appeals for well-organised, holistic care for mental illness

Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
Telegram
Email
Fatimah presents a certificate of appreciation to Dr Ismail.

KUCHING: Mental health is a social problem which is increasingly prevalent in today’s society.

This was pointed out by Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Children Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah today when she officiated at the closing ceremony of a two-day workshop on mental health organised by her ministry and Sarawak Social Development Council (MPSS) at a hotel in the city.

“By organising workshops to address peculiar social development issues, the state government is committed to community inclusiveness to enhance the people’s well-being in Sarawak,” she said.

The ministry, she said, is concerned about the importance of equal physical and economic development in social development.

“We are grateful to have gathered people who are relevant, committed and passionate in engaging with this important workshop that touches on mental health,” she said.

Fatimah presents a certificate of appreciation to Dr Ismail.

Fatimah noted that life’s conflicts such as financial issues, work stress, family issues and others can cause a person to suffer from mental stress and if they are not tough or resilient; the problems can affect their mental health.

“The National Health and Morbidity Survey which was implemented in 2015 by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) found that one out of three Malaysians experienced mental health problems and 29.2 per cent of those experiencing it were 16 years old and above,” she informed.

They found that Sarawak ranked fourth in Malaysia with 35.8 per cent of those 16 years old and above suffering from depression while 16 per cent were children aged 15 and below.

“This is particularly alarming as youths were affected, and it indirectly affected the productivity and economic development of the country,” said Fatimah.

A National Health and Morbidity Survey conducted in 2017 called “Adolescent Health Survey” showed that 10.1 per cent of secondary school students in Sarawak felt lonely “most of the time or always”; 7.7 per cent of students were unable to sleep “most of the time or always” due to worry, and in the 12 months prior to the survey, suicidal ideation, plans and attempts were reported by 10.9 per cent, 7.9 per cent, and 8.8 per cent of students respectively.

Fatimah advised mental health sufferers to go for counselling to deal with relationship, marital, family, parenting, work, and study problems.

“The most notable is the issue of homeless people who are neglected by their families or communities because of their poor mental health which requires medical intervention,” she said.

She pointed out that homelessness causes the mentally ill to suffer from various symptoms that affect not only themselves but society indirectly.

Among the causes of homelessness are family conflicts, alcohol addiction, family rejection, joblessness, and mental illness.

In 2016 the profiles of 43 homeless persons were collected while 84 were collected in 2017 which showed that there was an increase of people facing certain issues that caused them to become homeless.

Fatimah suggested that the government should establish an integrated psychiatric nursing home in Sarawak to treat homeless people.

“The public need to be open minded instead of always assuming that those with mental disorders are ‘crazy’ because their problems broadly encompass neurosis (depression, anxiety), psychosis (schizophrenia, manifold-depressive disorder) and personality disorder,” she said.

“Early rehabilitative treatment by psychiatrists, doctors or hospital counsellors should be provided if an individual has mental health disorders.”

She urged family members to be more attentive, aware and supportive during the early stage of mental health disorders by ensuring that sufferers are referred to health facilities for assessment and treatment.

Fatimah then gave a reminder that mental health is a shared social responsibility which means that efforts to care for the sick must cut across public and private sectors, political divides and civil societies for the sake of sustainable community well-being in the state.

Fatimah presents a certificate of appreciation to Iskandar.

Among those present at the closing ceremony of the workshop were the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Sa’adiah Abdul Samat, Social Development Council executive secretary representative Dr Intan Rahmah Mohd Tazuddin, Sarawak Mental Health Association president Dr Ismail Drahman and National Anti-Drugs Agency Kuching Division deputy director Iskandar Turkee.

Download from Apple Store or Play Store.