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KPJ Cares for YouMay 2023 Issue

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultingeconomic recession has had monumental effectson one’s mental health, where people have facedunprecedented challenges that add to the alreadyprevalent stress and anxiety they feel in their dailylives. Some lost their jobs, even their loved ones.This has in turn created new barriers for peoplealready suffering from mental illnesses.In 2019, there were 609 suicide cases reported inMalaysia, followed by 631 in 2020 and 1,142 casesin 2021.The stigma surrounding mental illness, althoughmore often related to context than to a person’sappearance, remains a powerful negative attributein all social relations. Sociological interest inpsychiatric stigma was given added vigour with thearrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019,which elevated the issue even more.The stigma of mental health is prevalent inMalaysia, even to this day. Often, those who sufferfrom mental health issues experiencediscrimination in all aspects of their lives, whichOVERCOMING THE STIGMA ON MENTAL HEALTHcauses them to feel ashamed for something that’sout of their control. Worst of all, the stigma preventsindividuals from seeking the help they need. Whilethe stigma has reduced in recent years fromawareness and education, the pace of progress inMalaysia has not been fast enough.CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS“There is still reluctance among the general public toseek help, as our culture is partly to blame. Youwould be surprised that many urbanites in KualaLumpur believe that mental illness can be cured bynon-doctors where alternative treatments capturemore interest rather than actual medical treatmentsoffered by qualified medical consultants” said Dr.Azhar Md Zain, consultant psychiatrist at KPJAmpang Puteri Specialist Hospital on Malaysia’sreadiness in accepting mental illness.ARE WE CALLING THEM PROPERLY?“The word ‘mental illness’ needs to be looked at sothat the public do not perceive the word ‘mental’ assomething negative. The word itself is verystigmatising and this needs to change. Healthcareinstitutions, the media and NGOs could come up with

“The word ‘mental illness’ needs to be looked at so that the public do not perceive the word ‘mental’ as something negative.”“Teachers need to be trained on identifying basic symptoms and causes of mental health.”a new word to label mentalhealth in a friendlier andoptimistic angle” said Dr.Azhar.MENTAL RESILIENCEDeveloping resilience is acritical part of the transition toadulthood. But talk to any GenX or Baby boomers today andyou will hear anecdotes abouttheir children struggling to dealwith depression or anxiety,which gives a perceived notionthat the younger generationare less resilient than the oldergeneration. This paints a bleakpicture for the youngergeneration. One popularexplanation for thisphenomena is that the youngergeneration were coddled bytheir parents, refraining themfrom responsibility andindependence which fostersmental resilience.This is not always the caseaccording to Dr. Azhar.“Different generations will havedifferent issues. It is not fair toaccuse the younger generationof not being resilient becausethings change as the timeprogresses. The way I see it,the older generation are theones who need to change; theyare still stuck in their ownmind-set and they expect theyounger generation to beexactly like them” said Dr.Azhar.Millennials went through theGreat Recession of 2008,affecting the economy andsubsequently their jobprospects, and that has prettymuch continued until today.High competitiveness anddead-end jobs are all factorsthat are naturally stressinducing which leads to asharp decline in mentalresilience among the currentgeneration.At the same time, thanks tovarious mental healthawareness initiatives on socialmedia and advocacy bycelebrities and other influentialpublic figures, millennials andGen Z’s are far moreconscious of mental healthissues and they are willing tovoice them out as compared totheir parents.And yet the stigma persists.So how does one overcome astigma?Eliminating barriers is animportant step for our society toprogress towards a stigma freecommunity.“It should be a cumulative effortfrom every party; the parents, theschool, employees, corporateinstitutions as well asgovernment initiatives. Everyoneplays a role” said Dr. Azhar.Establishing a curriculum inschool on mental health is oneway to de-stigmatise the topicfrom an early stage and worktowards early prevention.“Teachers need to be trained onidentifying basic symptoms andcauses of mental health. If this isdone, it would be a good firststep towards makingimprovements” said Dr. Azhar.Dr. Azhar Md Zain, consultant psychiatrist at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital

COMPANIES’ ROLE ON EMPLOYEES’MENTAL HEALTHA study conducted by Mayo Clinic foundthat women are nearly twice as likely asmen to be diagnosed with depression.1This disparity of mental healthprevalence is not totally shocking.“From day one, the ratio of cases ofmental health were found more amongwomen than men,” said Dr. Azhar.Women carry a heavier weight due tothe various roles they play, be it as amother, wife, employee, boss, all whilegoing through changes in the body suchas menstrual cycles, menopause,pregnancy, and doing so while takingcare of their children. This can be a lotworse for single working mothers.“We should have more companiesallowing fathers to be on long paternityleave as much as we give to mothers,”said Dr. Azhar.This allows sufficient time for bothparents to prepare for the arrival of theirnew-born child. When both parentsequally participate, this provides morespace for healthy mental health and bythe time they rejoin the workforce, theyare ready to give their best.“Everyone benefits here, both the familyand the company,” said Dr. Azhar.1 Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression/art-20047725

Welcome on board as our KPJ Cares Platinum Plus member, Mr. Iskandar! Full story hereHappenings in KPJ HealthcareInternational Women's Day Celebration with KPJFull story hereKPJ Ambulatory Care Centre (ACC) Kinraracelebrated its first anniversary! Full story hereKPJ Southern Region Hospitals sign MoU with National Cancer Society Malaysia Full story hereRelief efforts for Türkiye and SyriaFull story hereYB. Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, Minister of Health Malaysia unveiled our new Elekta Versa HD Linear Accelerator machineFull story here

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