KUALA LUMPUR: Families caring for those with mental health problems are at their wits’ end.
Teacher Nur Azah Osman, 58, said she had been caring for her daughter, Nur Ain Hassan, 34, who has schizo-
phrenia, for more than 10 years.
Nur Azah said she had registered Nur Ain at the Welfare Department and was issued an “Orang Kurang Upaya” (OKU) or “persons with disability” identification card. She said the family was looking for an adult daycare centre for Nur Ain.
“The problem is not that we do not want to care for her, but our family cannot cope with her mood swings and temper any more.”
Nur Azah said she was not looking for a full-time or long-term carer for her daughter and only wanted a daycare centre where there would be staff to monitor Nur Ain.
“I seldom have visitors because Nur Ain would scream harsh words at them.
“I don’t want anyone to get offended,” she said, adding that her other children hardly visited her because Nur Ain did not like visitors.
Nur Azah said she was worried that should anything happen to her, no one would care for Nur Ain, who allowed only certain individuals to enter her personal space.
“I am even more concerned when I have to go to work and leave her at home alone.”
Sometimes, Nur Azah was forced to call the hospital and even the police when Nur Ain became aggressive.
“I cannot defend myself when she gets angry. I don’t want to disown her, but I need help, please.”
She urged the Health Ministry to establish a nursing centre for mental patients.
“I have looked at private psychiatric homes, but they charge thousands of ringgit and I cannot afford that. Even if I could, if something were to happen to me, and I cannot pay the monthly fees, who would care for my daughter? I don’t want her to end up in the streets and homeless.”
Alias Isa, 70, said he did not know that his eldest son, Izzat, had been suffering from a mental disorder since he was a child.
Alias’s youngest daughter had often told him that her brother was “crazy”, a remark he would brush off as sibling rivalry.
Twenty years later, when Izzat was 34, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“I have always protected my eldest and helped him with his shortcomings. He would always be upset when his younger brothers or sisters were doing better in school, so I pushed him to do sports.
“He did very well in swimming until his younger brother competed in the same sport and excelled, which angered Izzat.
“I then pushed him to play football, but, again, when his other younger brother also played football and did better, Izzat got very upset.”
Alias said he made his biggest mistake when all his younger children got married and bought their own homes.
“I decided to find him (Izzat) a wife and buy him a home. But, it only got worst. He could not manage a home and his wife left him.
“That pushed Izzat even further away from the reality of life. I got a call from him later, saying he had checked himself into a mental ward.”
He said he hoped that one day, there would be a facility to help mental patients because currently, only those who had threatened to hurt themselves or others would be sent to mental hospitals.