Fatimah (centre), and (from left) Dr Wong, Dr Nordin, Dr Veronica and Dr Ismail give the thumbs-up after the launching ceremony.
MIRI: Mental illness is expected to be the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysians after heart disease by 2020.
According to National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, one in every three Malaysians suffer from mental health, which also includes depression.
Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the prevalence of mental health problems among adults had increased from 10.7 per cent in 1996, to 11.2 per cent in 2006, to 29.2 per cent in 2015.
Furthermore, the prevalence in females was higher than in males (30.8 per cent vs 27.6 per cent) while the overall prevalence of mental health problem among children (18 years below) was 12.1 per cent.
“Mental health is a very misunderstood issue and many associate it with madness. We should not simply dismiss the mentally-ill as ‘gila’ (crazy) and most people who live with mental illness have, at some point, been blamed for their condition and they’ve been called names.
“Stigma causes people to feel ashamed for something that is out of their control and worst of all, stigma prevents people from seeking the help they need,” Fatimah said at the opening of state-level World Health Day celebration themed ‘Depression — Let’s Talk’ at Miri Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Fatimah stressed the importance of everybody to raise their voice against stigma by talking openly about mental health, educating oneself and others on mental illness, be conscious of language (stop name calling) and show compassion to those with mental illness.
“We should be alert for signs and symptoms of mental problems such as prolonged sadness, constantly feeling irritated, inability to concentrate, anxiety, worry, loss of interest in doing chores, drastic change in eating and sleeping habit or having suicidal thoughts.
“If any of these signs are noticed, please seek medical attention immediately as our medical staff are trained to help patients cope with the problem and not to deal with depression entirely on your own,” she said, adding that depression could be avoided and was curable with strong support from family members, friends, co-workers, neighbours and healthcare professionals.
More than 900 people attended the programme yesterday which aimed at raising public awareness on the importance of mental health care, the prevention of chronic mental illness, awareness on the issue of suicide and improving the public’s knowledge of depression.
Among topics discussed were ‘Depression and Suicide’ by a psychiatrist from Putrajaya Hospital Dr Ahmad Rostam
Md Zin, ‘Stress management at the workplace’ by clinical psychologist and Unimas senior lecturer Dr Rizal Abu Bakar, ‘Pets: A must in every home’ by former Miri Hospital director Dr Uma Devi, ‘Pathway to help’ forum and also exhibition booths and free health screening by various government agencies including Mentari Kiosk, a social enterprise operated by patients of Miri Hospital’s Psychiatric Department.
Deputy director (Public Health) of state Health Dept Dr Nordin Salleh, Miri Health officer Dr Veronica Lugah, Miri Hospital director Dr Jack Wong Siew Yu, senior psychiatrist consultantent and Sentosa Hospital director Dr Ismail Drahman were also present.