As mental illness is treatable, we have to change mindsets and empower Malaysians to recognise it early and seek the right treatment, writes Nadia Badarudin
AT 36, television host and celebrity Belinda Chee is living the life that she has always dreamed of since she was little - a career in the entertainment industry and married to her high school sweetheart with two adorable children, Danielle and Dylan.
All seemed on the right track until Belinda gave birth to her second child a year ago. With more responsibilities at home and at work, she was stressed out and started losing focus on both. She felt lethargic all the time and became easily irritated over trivial matters – an opposite of her usually composed and calm nature.
Her sleep patterns were out of sync too.
“There was a time I didn’t go to sleep for three days in a row because I was worried about house chores and work. I had ridiculous thoughts that something bad would happen to my children if I sleep. I even asked my husband to send me to the hospital just to get some sleep,” says Belinda, sharing her experience at the launch of the Moodigo mobile app and Mental Health Awareness Campaign organised by Pfizer Malaysia.
Thinking that she was going mad, she shared her problem with friends. But they gave her the usual advice: “You’re not crazy! You look okay. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
So Belinda moved on although she was falling apart.
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
When it comes to mental health, most of us tend to keep mum, shying away from understanding the problem or shunning the people who try to reach out and ask for help.
We fail to realise that mental illness does not discriminate as it can happen to anyone, young and old, and even to the strongest, the smartest or the wealthiest.
Belinda was diagnosed with post-partum depression. She is among 29.2 per cent of Malaysian adults suffering from mental illness as recorded by the latest 2015 National Health and Morbidity Survey. The figure is a 142 per cent jump compared to 2011.
By 2020, mental illness is expected to be the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysians after heart disease.
Approximately 2.3 million Malaysians are grappling with depression. It is among the most common mental illnesses in the country besides anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The four illnesses are different although they may co-exist. Online medical education resource Global Medical Education shows that 59.2 per cent of all patients with major depression have had an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorder is a psychiatric disorder in which the patient can experience psychological or physical symptoms like stressed out, having bouts of panic attacks or disturbed sleep.
According to Mayo Clinic, bipolar disorder is a serious psychiatric illness that affects moods, thoughts and behaviours as well as ability to function.
On the other hand, schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric illness with no single symptom defining it but patients will usually have delusions, hallucinations or lack of interest in doing activities that they normally love, says Global Medical Education.
“The problem is we don’t want to talk about mental illness and we lump everything under the same umbrella. We have to change that. In fact, we should ask ‘which mental illness are we talking about?’” says Dr Hazli Zakaria, a consultant psychiatrist at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and vice-president of the Malaysian Psychiatric Association.
“In addition, we tend to give attention to the cases commonly highlighted in the media, which are not the common types of mental illnesses or disorders. And this adds to the existing stigma linked to them.
“We like to link behavioural changes to typical mood swings or blame superstitious practices.
“Such lack of knowledge and understanding worsens the stigma on mental health,” he adds.
FACELESS, NAMELESS
Mental illness affects a person’s ability to function and can lead to severe consequences including self-harm and suicide.
The worrying fact is that mental illness is faceless and does not manifest in a physical form unlike physical health. In Malaysia, mental health and mental disorders are not treated with the same degree of importance as physical health.
Many patients never seek treatment because they think they are all right or just afraid or ashamed to admit that they have a problem. They are afraid of society’s perception or being labelled as ‘crazy’ if they see a psychiatrist or a psychologist, says Dr Hazli.
“There are so many people who are depressed or mentally ill but still function well, and we could be one of them.
“Some don’t even realise they have mental disorders. They are the ones we should be worried about because they are likely to be too afraid to admit and let people know they are unwell. They pretend everything is fine behind their smile,” he says.
TALK ABOUT IT
Destigmatising is important to address mental health issues and the key lies in changing society’s mindset through education, says Dr Ng Chong Guan, a consultant psychiatrist at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and vice president of the Malaysian Mental Health Association.
“It’s almost taboo to discuss mental health openly. We have to change such attitude and mindset because the conditions are treatable.
“We have to educate and empower Malaysians to recognise mental illness early and seek the right treatment,” he says.
“Nowadays, we see more people being pro-active in seeking professional help to prevent cancer and this is the direction that we are moving towards for mental health. We want to create a society that is well-informed about mental illness and open-minded, brave and pro-active to address it.
“We want a society that treat mental disorders the same as other physical health problems,” he adds.
In destigmatising mental illness, Dr Hazli says the perceived best advice to anyone facing mental issues can actually make it worse.
So, what should a person say or do if she thinks that a family member or a friend needs professional help?
“Stop giving advice. It’s important not to say things like ‘you’re okay’ or ‘it’s all in your head’ and ask them to exercise or eat well.
“You have to understand that getting up from the bed or eating can be challenging to a person grappling with a mental issue. So, the first and most important step is to listen.
“Lending your ears is a basic yet most crucial step you can to do help. Let them talk,” he says.
“And if you think you yourself need professional help, there’s nothing to be afraid or ashamed of because you are not alone,” he adds.
IMPROVE EMOTIONAL SELF-AWARENESS
PFIZER Malaysia recently launched Moodigo, a mobile app which allows users to track their mood, sets goals and establish routines that can help support them in their daily life while encouraging those experiencing depression to seek professional help.
Pfizer Malaysia director of corporate affairs, health and value, Noor Yang Azwar Kamarudin, said it aims to encourage more Malaysians to identify early symptoms of depression by improving emotional self-awareness via Moodigo.
“We want more Malaysians to cope better with stress and conflicts. With Moodigo, users are able to input their mood and track daily routines such as sleep and exercise.
“Most importantly, the app features useful tips on how to manage mental health and provides links to professional help should the need arise,” she said at the launch which coincided with the nationwide public awareness campaign #everybodyisatrisk led by Pfizer Malaysia in collaboration with Malaysian Psychiatric Association and Malaysian Mental Health Association.
The app includes a number of key features that leverage on some of the best principles in managing depression such as goal-setting, mood-sharing and mood-tracking.
Mood-tracking is an important tool for improving patients’ emotional self-awareness. Tracking mood with an app also offers the convenience of real-time reporting, which can make it easier to identify long-term patterns.
Moodigo is free and can be downloaded from Apple App Store and Google Play Store.