10.10 might be a shopping spree for Malaysians, but for some of us, it is #WorldMentalHealthDay and we are taking a moment to remember those who suffer from poor mental health, widely misunderstood, roaming in #hell alike in their daily life and partly walking #alone.
Mental health’s facts:
450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem.
5 to 10% of the population suffers from clinical depression at any given time.
Every 3 of 10 adults age 16 years above in Malaysia suffer from some form of mental health issues.
A total of 424,000 children in Malaysia suffer from mental health problems
By #2020, mental illness is expected to be the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysians after heart disease. Worse, people with severe mental disorders die 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population. If we continue to ignore this silent killer that lurks in our society, 1 person will continue to die for every 40 seconds. 90 #suicide in an hour, 60,480 suicides a month, and a total of 4,354,560 suicide deaths in just 6 years. To understand that in another spectrum, before a child even enters the school, the entire population of New Zealand has already been wiped out due to the suicide deaths.Hence, what can we do for those not wearing the hat of #Counsellor or #psychologist? The game plan is simple. It is called #teamwork. If we could quarantine ourselves, perform social distancing, wear a mask whenever we go public during #COVID19, we could replicate the same success in tackling the mental illness epidemic.Show them you care and acknowledge their existence:
✓ Listen without judgment.
✓ Express empathy and encouragement.
✓ Help them find resources.
✗ Don’t say “Be strong”, “Be positive” or “Be grateful”.
✗ Don’t be afraid to ask if they’re suicidal.
✗ Don’t minimize what they’re going through by telling them things like “Things aren’t that bad.
Last but not least, tag your friend/family who need to see this. They might just make a difference in the movement.