Make mental health a global priority

Nearly 1 billion people live with mental health conditions. This is an alarming increase of 25%, in the prevalence of depression and anxiety. In Malaysia, mental disorders, such as suicidal attempts, are meanwhile on the rise.

To assist individuals to achieve the optimum level of mental wellness, the World Health Organisation (WHO) marks October 10 as World Mental Health Day. 

But, mobilising efforts to bring mental health to the forefront seems to remain inadequate. This makes mental health one of the most neglected aspects of healthcare.

Radical action must be taken immediately to prioritise the mental well-being of the community. 

As part of their commitment to mental health in higher education, the Government-Linked Universities (GLUs) comprising Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UniTEN), champion the mental well-being through a symposium, held today (11 October 2022). 

The GLU Youth Nation: Mental Wellness Symposium 2022 featured the President & Founder of the Mental Illness Awareness & Support Association Malaysia (MIASA), Puan Anita Abu Bakar who shared insight into the present model of care, services and current development of mental healthcare. 

Puan Anita Abu Bakar

She told many people with a mental illness suffered humiliation on top of the stigma and discrimination they received. “They continued to be marginalised, excluded and at times devalued,” she said. 

While she is not ruling out that the practice of promoting mental wellness is quite rampant in this country, she urged immediate action to end this stigma. 

Here are a few tips that Puan Anita shared for higher institutions students can adopt to advocate mental health environment:

1) Seek knowledge on mental health

Increasing mental health literacy and emotional intelligence vocabulary not only will help one to mitigate the disorder from worsening but will respond better to people with the issue. “You are not only able to manage the symptoms, but choose to live,” Puan Anita advised. 

2) Be mindful of the language

It is not easy for the people experiencing it to garner courage and share it with their companions. Hence, the right choice of language for responding to their sharing will bring a profound impact on their next actions. 

3) Reduce the stigma

Reducing the stigma by embracing social inclusion is vital to genuinely include people living with mental illness by giving support as well as intervening and preventing crises. All groups of people should feel included and valued within their society or community.

“Many people who lived with it (mental health issues) described stigma as worse than the condition itself. What is most important is actually to bring alive the voices of the people who live with the experience and this is right in principle as brought forth with the victory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which Malaysia has rectified in 2010. 

“Bringing into the context of today, this year, as we continue to live, and continue to learn from the far-reaching effects of the pandemic, there is one striking effect and that is why we are here – the toll that it has taken on the mental health of many. 

“If we all work together, then everyone wins. This is our hope,” she urged. 

Also present during the symposium’s opening ceremony were the Chairman Of GLU Council and the President & Chief Executive Officer of MMU, YBhg. Professor. Dato’ Dr. Mazliham Mohd Su’ud; President/Chief Executive Officer of UniKL, Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar; MMU’s Vice President (Student Experience and Entrepreneurship Development, YBhg. Prof Dr. Wong Eng Kiong; UTP’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), YBhg. Professor Ts. Dr. Nor Hisham Hamid; and UniTEN’s Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs & Alumni), YBhg. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Mat Isa.