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School pressures and lack of parental guidance make Malaysian students more prone to mental illness

Published by Afterschool.my on Oct 11, 2012, 09:13 am

Young Malaysians, especially students experience stress because of pressure from parents and peers to score excellently in examinations
Less parent interaction and imbalanced way of living, having little or no time for leisure activies, are also said to be the culprits for mental disorders

The worsening trend concerning mental health issues involving adolescents (15 and below) has got the Health Ministry concerned. Statistics showed mental health problems involving the group rose to 13% in 1996; 19.4% in 2006 and 20% last year.A report by the National Suicide Registry Malaysia estimated that between January and August 2010, 425 people committed suicide, averaging 60 cases per month.According to Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the worsening mental health of teenagers and children, the country's national assets, is a serious matter because it affects national development.

He drew attention to the fact that teens and children today were heavily influenced by the Internet and communications technology to the point it was leading to less parent-child interaction while parents busy with their careers were also treating lightly the supportive role they needed to play when it came to their children.As such, Liow said the ministry would make efforts to tackle the problem including preparing a national strategic plan on mental health and increasing the number of Community Health Centres from next year.

Liow said the plan among others would stress on the aspects of promoting mental health and smart partnerships involving various agencies and NGOs. According to him, opening up more Community Health Centres would enable patients to receive treatment in a more conducive environment as compared to hospitals.

He said services like psychological support, counseling and information on mental health were available at such centres.National Population and Family Development Board Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Napsiah Omar, meanwhile, believes that children were pressured to score examinations and almost had no time for leisure activites to help them unwind."It (stress) is mainly caused by competition among students striving to be the best," she explained. She pointed out the need for an understanding in children's development to balance study and entertainment."Education is important, but this does not mean parents should risk their children's mental health." She urge parents to play their part in identifying these problems.Causes of depression are often likely to be the result of a number of inter-related factors. Besides abnormal functioning of chemicals in the brain, other factors like hereditary, stress and personality contribute to the development of depression. Stressful events, like failure in an examination, or a relationship breakdown or even chronic illness may act as a trigger for an onset of a depressive episode.

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