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PUTRAJAYA: The suicide rate is on the rise in Malaysia, with more than 1,000 people taking their own lives over a three-year period.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ratio of suicides from 2007 to 2010 was 1.3 for every 100,000 people, but added that it could be higher.

"These are just figures we collected from post-mortems. We think suicides are under-reported," he told a press conference after chairing the Mental Health Promotion advisory council meeting here.

Of the 1,156 people who committed suicide over the three-year period, the majority were aged between 24 and 44.

Liow said this was alarming as the victims belonged to the productive age group.

"National statistics also show that men outnumber women three to one, while the Chinese had the highest number of suicides at 48%, followed by Indians (21%), Malays (18%) and other races (13%)," he said.

However, he said the country's suicide rate was far lower than the global average of 16 for every 100,000 people.

Given the increase in suicides in Malaysia, the Government had decided to launch a five-year National Suicide Prevention Strategic Action Plan starting this year, said Liow.

Part of the plan is to shift mental health treatment from being purely institutionalised in hospitals to more community-centric and to be made available at community mental health centres.

"By bringing mental healthcare to the clinics, the Government is adhering to the World Health Organisation's recommendations of getting the public to play a greater role in providing support for mental health patients," said Liow.

The initial target is to set up one community mental health centre in every state this year.

"Currently, we have 224 psychiatrists in the ministry. The ratio of psychiatrists to the population is 1:150,000, but ideally we need to get a ratio of 1:50,000, which means we need a three-fold increase," he said.

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Suicide rate on the rise in Malaysia - Nation | The Star Online

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PUTRAJAYA: The suicide rate is on the rise in Malaysia, with more than 1,000 people taking their own lives over a three-year period. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ratio of suicides from 2007 to 2010 was 1.3 for every 100,000 people, but added that it could be higher.

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Teen depression rates are rising, especially among girls, new study suggests

Thursday November 17, 2016
07:53 AM GMT+8

NEW YORK, Nov 17 - The number of teens reporting depression is on the rise according to new US research, and is growing at an even faster rate among teenage girls.

According to the study, reports of depression increased by 37 per cent over the decade ending in 2014, with one in six adolescent girls reporting an episode in the past year.

Led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the team of researchers analyzed data from the 2005 to 2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health on adolescents and young adults to look at trends in "major depressive episodes" over the previous year.

Also known as clinical depression, major depressive episodes occur when someone develops a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in everyday activities, along with other depressive symptoms, consistently for at least two weeks.

In total 176,245 adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 180,459 adults aged 18 to 25 were involved in the annual study between 2005 and 2014.

Participants were told what the symptoms of depression were, and asked to report on whether they had experienced any of them in the previous year.

The reports revealed that in 2005, 8.7 per cent of teens had experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, with this figure rising to 11.3 per cent in 2014.

Among teen girls this figure was even higher, rising from 13.1 per cent in 2005 to 17.3 per cent in 2014.

The team also observed that whites were more likely than non-whites to experience these episodes, with the rates increasing from 8.8 per cent in 2005 to 9.6 per cent in 2015, although the increase was only found in those age 18 to 20.

The study found no increase in depression rates among 21 to 25-year olds.

Although the findings were based only on self-reports not on clinical diagnoses, which can be subject to error, the results are still worrying, with lead researcher Ramin Mojtabai commenting that, "This shows us there are a growing number of untreated adolescents with depression and that we are making few inroads in getting mental health care to this population. It is imperative that we find ways to reach these teenagers and help them manage their depression."

Although the team are unsure about what is causing the increase, especially among young girls, they suggest mobile phone use could be partly to blame.

Problematic mobile phone use among young people has already been linked to depressed mood and cyberbullying via mobile phones may have also increased in recent years, particularly among girls who use their mobile phones more frequently and intensively than boys.

The findings can be found published online the journal Pediatrics. - AFP-Relaxnews

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Teen depression rates are rising, especially among girls, new study suggests

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NEW YORK, Nov 17 - The number of teens reporting depression is on the rise according to new US research, and is growing at an even faster rate among teenage girls. According to the study, reports of depression increased by 37 per cent over the

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By: Stephanie Pappas
Published: June 22, 2015 11:33am ET on LiveScience.

Cyberbullying on social media is linked to depression in teenagers, according to new research that analyzed multiple studies of the online phenomenon.

Victimization of young people online has received an increasing level of scrutiny, particularly after a series of high-profile suicides of teenagers who were reportedly bullied on various social networks. In 2013, for example, a spate of suicides was linked to the social network Ask.fm, where users can ask each other questions anonymously. The deaths of teens who had been subject to abuse on the site prompted Ask.fm (which was acquired by Ask.com in 2014) to launch new safety efforts. Twitter, likewise, announced plans in April to filter out abusive tweets and suspend bullying users.

Social media use is hugely common among teenagers, said Michele Hamm, a researcher in pediatrics at the University of Alberta, but the health effects of cyberbullying on social media sites is largely unknown. Regular, face-to-face bullying during the teen years may double the risk of depression in adulthood, and bullying's effects can be as bad or worse than child abuse, studies show.

A depressing effect

In the new review, Hamm and her colleagues combed through studies on cyberbullying and social media, finding 36 that investigated the effects of cyberbullying on health in teens ages 12 to 18. Although the studies examined different health outcomes and sometimes defined cyberbullying differently, one finding stood out.

"There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression," Hamm told Live Science. [ 8 Tips for Parents of Teens with Depression]

The studies covered a variety of social sites, but Facebook was the most common - between 89 percent and 97.5 percent of the teens who used social media had a Facebook account. Seventeen of the 36 studies analyzed looked at how common cyberbullying was, and the researchers found that a median of 23 percent of teens reporting being targeted. About 15 percent reported bullying someone online themselves.

Two studies examined the prevalence of so-called "bully-victims," meaning teens who both bully others and are bullied. Research on offline bullying shows these kids to be most at-risk for mental health problems. One study found that 5.4 percent of teens were bully-victims, while the other reported a prevalence of 11.2 percent.

Safe social media

Despite the well-publicized suicide cases linked to cyberbullying in news reports, Hamm and her colleagues did not find consistent links between being bullied and self-harm across the studies. Nor did they see a consistent link between cyberbullying and anxiety. Some studies found evidence for these links, and others did not.

However, Hamm cautioned, the findings don't mean these links don't exist. The 36 studies used a variety of definitions and health outcomes, and not enough work has been done to confirm or rule out connections between cyberbullying and anxiety or self-harm.

But cyberbullying and depression went hand-in-hand, the researchers report today (June 22) in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Ten studies examined the link between social media victimization and depression, and all of them found a connection.

Alone, these studies can't prove that the bullying caused the depression - it's possible that depressed teens are more likely to become targets of bullying than their healthier peers. However, Hamm said, one of the 10 studies did follow the teens over time and found that the cyberbullying preceded the teens' depression, hinting at a causal relationship. The research also found that the more cyberbullying a teen experienced, the more severe his or her symptoms of depression.

Alarmingly, teens typically suffered cyberbullying in silence. "Kids really are hesitant to tell anyone when cyberbullying occurs," Hamm said. "There seems to be a common fear that if they tell their parents, for example, they'll lose their Internet access."

Therefore, it's important for parents to respond carefully if their kids are being bullied online, and to teach teens safe Internet use rather than cutting off permission to use the Web, she said.

"Parents need to address that this is happening and that the Internet and social media is here," Hamm said. "It's an important part of their kids' lives. But it needs to be a whole team approach."

Copyright 2015 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Cyberbullying And Depression Go Hand In Hand, According To New Study

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By: Stephanie Pappas Published: June 22, 2015 11:33am ET on LiveScience. Cyberbullying on social media is linked to depression in teenagers, according to new research that analyzed multiple studies of the online phenomenon. Victimization of young people online has received an increasing level of scrutiny, particularly after a series of high-profile suicides of teenagers who were reportedly bullied on various social networks.

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A 24-year-old Belgian woman who suffers from depression and has had a "death wish" since childhood has been granted the right to die - even though she's not terminally ill.

Doctors gave the young woman, identified only as Laura, the go-ahead to be euthanized by lethal injection after she spent her life battling suicidal thoughts, she told Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

"Life, that's not for me," she said. "Death feels to me not as a choice. If I had a choice, I would choose a bearable life, but I have done everything and that was unsuccessful."

Laura, who entered a psychiatric institution when she was 21, said her alcohol father and troubled childhood contributed to her longtime "death wish."

"I played all my life with these thoughts of suicide, I have also done a few attempts," she said. "But then there is someone who needs me, and I don't want to hurt anyone. That has always stopped me."

Laura is now planning her funeral and final words to loved ones, De Morgen reported.

"What I'm going to say on that last moment, I do not know yet," Laura said. "I have extensively written ideas in letters to my friends. I think everything has already been appointed.

"Maybe I will finally figure it out with these words: 'Those who are about to die salute you.'"

Belgium, which legalized euthanasia in 2002, gave the physically healthy woman the green light to end her life as a terminally ill California mother sues the state for the same permissions.

Christy O'Donnell, 46, who suffers from stage IV lung cancer, has less than four months left to live but fears an agonizing death that will feel like drowning.

She follows in the footsteps of Brittany Maynard, a cancer-stricken California woman who led the "death with dignity movement" and moved to Oregon to legally take her own life with prescription drugs last November.
Send a Letter to the Editor

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Belgian woman, 24, granted euthanasia death over depression

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A 24-year-old Belgian woman who suffers from depression and has had a "death wish" since childhood has been granted the right to die - even though she's not terminally ill. Doctors gave the young woman, identified only as Laura, the go-ahead to be euthanized by lethal injection after she spent her life battling suicidal thoughts, she told Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

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Recovering from depression? The thought of a relapse can be scary. But there are steps you can take to avoid depression relapse in the future.

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the causes of the depression

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Generally, depression does not result from a single event, but from a combination of recent events and other longer-term or personal factors

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Vulnerability factors

Vulnerability to depression is usually the outcome of complex, uniquely interwoven factors specific to each person. The factors can be roughly sorted into three categories:

Biological factors, such as genetics, hormones, and changing brain chemistry

Psychological factors, such as unique life story and its effect on personal attitudes and thinking habits

Social factors, such as financial position, social status and isolation from support networks

These factors combine to form a background of different levels of vulnerability to depression for each person.

Triggers

What's your depression story?Sometimes, a specific stressful experience, such as a bereavement or new challenge, then strains a person's coping resources so much that depression has a way in. In other cases, there is no obvious trigger and depression sneaks in quietly and reinforces itself without the person realising.

You can read about the real experiences of other students on this site. But what's your story?

Read more about each factor to help you think about what might have given depression a way in to your life. Remember that what initially gave depression a foothold in your life is not your fault and may not even be relevant to your life now. This is because once depression gets a foot in the door it works to reinforce a self-perpetuating depression habit spiral.

You don't have to know why depression started in order to tackle it. But having a reasonable explanation helps to resist unhelpful, self-blaming explanations. It can also help in deciding what strategies might be most effective for tackling depression and moving forward.

Easier with help

Working out your own depression story in detail is often easier with the help of a trained professional, like a counsellor.

Take Action

Why me worksheet

Related

The depression habit spiral
Understanding your depression
Learning from others

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Vulnerability to depression is usually the outcome of complex, uniquely interwoven factors specific to each person. The factors can be roughly sorted into three categories: Biological factors, such as genetics, hormones, and changing brain chemistry Psychological factors, such as unique life story and its effect on personal attitudes and thinking habits Social factors, such as financial position, social status and isolation from support networks These factors combine to form a background of different levels of vulnerability to depression for each person.

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"I am neither crazy nor insane, but because of family problems and life pressures, I tried to commit suicide many times."

This was a confession by Alexander (not his real name), 25, who is now seeking psychiatric treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

He told The Rakyat Post that the emotional stress stemming from his parents' divorce saw him attempt to end his life.

He said the emotional stress from his parents' divorce did not allow him to think. He just wanted to die by drinking detergent.

"This is not the first time I tried to kill myself. When I was 20, my father married another woman and my mother moved to Shah Alam. I felt emotional stress because I was treated like a stranger at home."

Speaking of his latest attempt, Alexander said he was rushed to the hospital after slashing his wrist with a sharp object, but he was saved because he arrived at the hospital quickly.

University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) consultant psychiatrist Dr Muhamad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari said in the context of Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries, suicide cases were far fewer compared with Western countries.

He said according to records held by the National Suicide Registry for 2012, suicide cases in the country accounted for 1.3 deaths for every 100,000 people.

He admitted that while the suicide rate in the country was not at a worrying level, he cautioned that it could increase as the nation inched closer to 2020, due to the current lifestyle.

"We need to take precautions."

Dr Muhamad Muhsin said statistics by the National Health and Morbidity Survey showed that 12% of Malaysians, aged between 18 and 60, suffered mental health problems.

Statistics by World Health Organisation (WHO) for 2012 recorded 800,000 suicides worldwide for every 40 seconds.

"In the last 20 years, seven to 12 people for every 100,000 Malaysians died from suicide.

"For the same period in Singapore, the ratio was 15 to 20 for every 100,000."

Dr Muhamad Muhsin went on to explain that suicidal tendencies among youths, aged between 12 and 20, usually stemmed from academic problems, including being pressured to do well.

To combat suicide, he said close family members and friends could help because one does not commit suicide abruptly.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with World Health Day yesterday, Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram) said it would raise awareness about mental illness, by running several programmes.

Ikram president Dr Mohd Parid Sheikh Ahmad said the organisation would look into the perspective of psychiatry, psychology and counselling through programmes related to family, teenagers, children, laws, public service and social work.

"Ikram always welcomes cooperation with those who are experts in the area of mental health. Ikram will continue efforts to work with professionals and community activists to create a healthy community physically, mentally and spiritually."

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Suicide cases in Malaysia could increase, warns psychiatrist - The Rakyat Post

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11, 2015: "I am neither crazy nor insane, but because of family problems and life pressures, I tried to commit suicide many times." This was a confession by Alexander (not his real name), 25, who is now seeking psychiatric treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

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Loneliness, stress, self esteem and depression among
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Depression on the rise as Malaysians burn out from stress, expert warns 

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Depression on the rise as Malaysians burn out from stress, expert warns

Thursday March 24, 2016
07:18 AM GMT+8

PETALING JAYA, March 24 - Depression will be a major mental health illness Malaysians will suffer from by 2020.

Malaysian Psychiatric Association president Prof Dr Nor Zuraida Zainal said this was because more people are expected to experience increased stress due to work and family pressure.

"Most people find it hard to deal with the problems they face at work and cannot handle the stress.

"It is harder when an individual faces problems from family members and do not receive emotional support," she said yesterday in conjunction with Depression Awareness Day.

"There are higher chances of people keeping their thoughts and emotions to themselves when they do not find a way to vent out their frustrations."

Research done by the association on the prevalence of depression among Malaysians showed a 50 per cent increase in depressed patients from 2011 to 2015.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey last year indicated 29 per cent of Malaysians had depression and anxiety disorder compared to 12 per cent in 2011.

"The increasing statistics is extremely alarming as it is equivalent to one third of the population," she said.

Dr Zuraida also warned burnout was a condition that should not be taken lightly as it could lead to depression.

"More often, people ignore their mental conditions as they blame it on stress. Burnout will eventually make an individual feel emotional due to the overwhelming stress," she said.

Among the tell-tale signs for depression are continuously feeling sad, weight loss, consistently having negative thoughts, insomnia, delusions and alcohol or drug addiction.

She said people who have more than two of the tell-tale signs for more than three weeks are at risk at being "critically burned out" to having depression.

Dr Zuraida said people with depression should not be stigmatised as people experience it at some phase of their lives adding this is what was keeping people from seeking help.

Some of the measures one could take to prevent depression and anxiety is to exercise consistently for four to five weeks, sleep at least eight hours a day and avoid social media platforms such as WhatsApp at least 45 minutes before going to bed.

She said society needs to address the illness and develop preventive strategies and effective programmes in managing the mental well-being of an individual

"This illness can be cured if a person comes forward and is open to solutions such as counselling," she said adding medication was prescribed only if a person's condition worsened.

University Malaya Medical Centre psychiatry department head Prof Dr. Ahmad Hatim Sulaiman said depression and anxiety were treatable if detected early.

He said besides medication, one could also treat the illness with psychotherapy treatment and electroconvulsive treament.

"The treatments for depression has evolved with technology. But these treatments will not be futile if patients are afraid to seek treatment,"he said.

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Depression on the rise as Malaysians burn out from stress, expert warns Thursday March 24, 201607:18 AM GMT+8 PETALING JAYA, March 24 - Depression will be a major mental health illness Malaysians will suffer from by 2020.

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Nicole Stearman remembers the morning well. Around 10:30 a.m., just as her research methods class at Eastern Washington University was finishing up, she felt an abrupt sense of terror and shortness of breath. It was the start of a panic attack - not the first she'd experienced - and she knew she needed immediate help. Stearman headed straight to the university's counseling and psychological services center.

When she arrived, she learned there were no counselors available, so she left and found a corner of the building to ride out the rest of the attack. "I can't really time my panic attacks to hit only on weekdays during the center's 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. counselor walk-in hours," says Stearman, who'd been diagnosed with depression and social phobia/social anxiety disorder in high school. "While the counseling center is a great resource, it could be a lot better."

Stearman is one of an increasing number of students who struggle with getting treatment for their mental health issues in college. About one-third of U.S. college students had difficulty functioning in the last 12 months due to depression, and almost half said they felt overwhelming anxiety in the last year, according to the 2013 National College Health Assessment, which examined data from 125,000 students from more than 150 colleges and universities.

Other statistics are even more alarming: More than 30 percent of students who seek services for mental health issues report that they have seriously considered attempting suicide at some point in their lives, up from about 24 percent in 2010, says Pennsylvania State University psychologist Ben Locke, PhD, who directs the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), an organization that gathers college mental health data from more than 263 college and university counseling or mental health centers.

"Those who have worked in counseling centers for the last decade have been consistently ringing a bell saying something is wrong, things are getting worse with regard to college student mental health," Locke says. "With this year's report, we're now able to say, 'Yes, you're right.' These are really clear and concerning trends."

Psychologists are stepping in to help address these trends in several ways. Researchers are examining the effect of mental health on how prepared students are for learning and exploring innovative ways to expand services and work with faculty to embed mental wellness messages in the classroom, says Louise Douce, PhD, special assistant to the vice president of student life at Ohio State University.

"For students to be able to learn at their peak capacity, they need to be physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually well," says Douce. "Students who struggle are more likely to drop out of school, but by providing services for their anxiety, depression and relationship issues, we can help them manage these issues, focus on their academics and learn new ways to be in the world."

More students, more need

One of the biggest reasons why college and university counseling services are seeing an increase in the number of people requesting help and in the severity of their cases is simply that more people are now attending college. Enrollment in degree-granting institutions increased by 11 percent from 1991 to 2001 and another 32 percent from 2001 to 2011, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"One of the things that seems to be going on for colleges and universities is that as access to colleges and universities continues to grow, the population of colleges and universities is moving towards the general population, especially if you combine community colleges as part of that equation. So the level of need for access and the severity of concerns is growing - just like it has been in the general population," Locke says.

In addition, students who may not have attended college previously due to mental health issues, such as depression or schizophrenia, or behavioral or developmental concerns, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism, are now able to attend thanks to better treatment approaches and new medications. Access to wraparound services and individualized education plans in primary and secondary education have also helped more students graduate high school and qualify to attend college.

But when these young people go to college, such specialized services and accommodations rarely exist. The result is more students seeking help at counseling centers. Over the last three school years, the CCMH reports a nearly 8 percent increase in the number of students seeking mental health services. And college counseling centers report that 32 percent of centers report having a waiting list at some point during the school year, according to the 2013 Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) survey.

Unfortunately, even as students want more services, many center budgets remain unchanged or have increased only slightly from years past, the same survey finds. AUCCCD survey data suggest that larger institutions have struggled to attain pre-2008 recession budget levels, reflected in fewer counseling clinicians proportionate to the student body, compared with smaller institutions. The result can be seen in lower utilization rates and large waiting lists. In fact, the AUCCCD survey finds that from 2010 to 2012, the average maximum number of students on a waiting list for institutions with more than 25,000 students nearly doubled, from 35 students to 62 students.

Healthy minds and the bottom line

One way that counseling centers are trying to get more support for mental health services is by focusing on a factor administrators understand: a return on investment.

Research led by University of Michigan economist Daniel Eisenberg, PhD, for example, suggests that investing in mental health services for college students can help keep them from dropping out (B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2009). That's good news for schools since they want to retain tuition revenue, but more important, it helps secure significantly higher lifetime earnings for the students, Eisenberg says.

"Every college and university cares a lot about its retention rate," he says. "It's one of the primary indicators of operating a successful institution - that people want to stay and that people are succeeding there."

Eisenberg has replicated these findings with samples from other colleges and universities, and in 2013, posted a formula to help counseling centers develop their own return on investment spreadsheet to present to university administrators when advocating for additional funding. Users can plug in their school's population size, departure/retention rate, and prevalence of depression to calculate the economic case for student mental health services.

"This economic case doesn't even count the most direct benefits of mental health services and programs - the boost in student well-being and the relief of suffering," Eisenberg says. Students who participate in counseling report improvements in their satisfaction with their quality of life - often a better predictor of student retention than grade point average.

Innovative treatment models

The insufficient funding for college mental health services also means inadequate access to care and treatment. Colleges and universities are addressing this challenge by developing quick screening tools and brief consultations to rapidly determine the needs of each new student who visits the counseling center. The University of Texas at Austin's Counseling and Mental Health Center, for example, created a Brief Assessment and Referral Team (BART), which replaces a lengthy initial consultation with a brief assessment with a trained counselor, who then refers the student to the appropriate level of care.

"For some students, a single session with a mental health professional is all they need, perhaps to help them problem-solve a situation or talk about a personal concern," says Chris Brownson, PhD, associate vice president for student affairs and director of UT-Austin's Counseling Center. "Other students are in need of more intermediate or even extended care. This is a way of getting students in front of a counselor more quickly and then ultimately getting them connected to the type of treatment that they need in a much faster way."

In another effort to connect students with mental health services faster, the University of Florida's Counseling and Wellness Center launched its Therapist Assisted Online (TAO) program to deliver therapy to students with anxiety disorders - all over a computer or smartphone screen. The seven-week program consists of several modules that teach students to observe their anxiety, live one day at a time and face fears. Students also have weekly 10- to 12-minute video conferences with counselors, as well as homework that they do via an app. They even get text message reminders to prompt them to complete their assignments, says Sherry Benton, PhD, the former director of the UF counseling center who led TAO's development.

The idea for TAO emerged after the center got funding to hire three more counselors, which Benton thought would help them eliminate their waiting list. Instead, it only bought them two weeks without a waiting list.

"It just seemed like every time we got an increase in funding and got more staff, we just had more students who wanted services," she recalls. The realization forced her to rethink how the center delivered care. TAO's success has been beyond Benton's expectations: When she compared the outcomes of the center's traditional face-to-face services with TAO's outcomes, the online clients' improvement in well-being and anxiety symptoms was significantly better than those receiving face-to-face therapy.

"It was phenomenal," says Benton, whose study on the results was submitted for journal publication in June. She thinks the program's success is due to how it's integrated into each student's life via smartphones - the technology allows students to do their therapy homework easily, and their counselors can monitor what students do during the week.

"Let's face it, we would all floss our teeth more often if our dentist could check up on us every few days and see if we were flossing," says Benton. She is now working with the school's office of technology and licensing to develop TAO into a commercial product and is investigating a similar prototype to treat substance abuse and depression among college students.

Education and awareness

Counseling centers are also reaching out beyond the therapist's walls in another way: working with faculty to include wellness awareness in their interactions with students.

"Certainly the bread and butter of what counseling centers do is seeing and treating individuals, but there's a significant amount of campus policy, faculty and staff training, consultation, outreach/prevention, and crisis work they provide as well," Douce says.

Data from the AUCCCD survey confirm that counseling centers are getting involved in more and more aspects of the university, says David Reetz, PhD, director of counseling services at Aurora University in the suburbs of Chicago, and one of the survey's lead authors.

The association's data show that a typical counseling center staffer spends about 65 percent of his or her time in direct clinical service, and another 20 percent to 25 percent of time on outreach initiatives, such as training students, faculty and other staff in mental health issues, as well as offering suicide, sexual violence, and drug and alcohol prevention programs, Reetz says.

At Aurora University, for example, in addition to delivering presentations to faculty on ways to detect early signs of student distress, strategies to intervene and techniques for referring them to the appropriate mental health services, Reetz instructs faculty on the best ways to increase student motivation, pulling in concepts from the psychological literature on resilience, growth mindsets and grit. "We're taking psychological concepts that we ... have been using in one form or another in the clinical setting and helping faculty think about how they can ... infuse these concepts into their curriculum or into creating their classroom climate," Reetz says.

Some counseling centers are beefing up their efforts to help all students understand the importance of mental health. That's essential, since 78 percent of students with mental health problems first receive counseling or support from friends, family or other nonprofessionals, suggests a 2011 study led by Eisenberg (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease).

One popular alliance among counseling centers and students is Active Minds. The organization's more than 400 student-run chapters throughout the United States support efforts to remove the stigma around mental health issues. For example, the Active Minds' "Send Silence Packing" is a traveling exhibition of 1,100 donated backpacks that represent the number of college students who die by suicide each year. "The backpacks are spread out in a high-traffic area on campus, like the quad, and it's impossible to walk by without taking notice," says Sara Abelson, senior director of programs at Active Minds. "It helps students recognize the need to pay attention, because we all have a role to play in preventing suicide."

Abelson says the organization is also dedicated to championing the idea that student mental health and well-being are central to the mission, purpose and outcomes of every school - and that they need to be a priority.

"I think we're beginning to see more and more universities recognizing that creating a healthy climate and an open dialogue about mental health needs to be a priority," she says. "They're also realizing that it can't just be the responsibility of the counseling center, but that this is relevant across the university, and that everyone from the students to the administration needs to be playing a role."
Amy Novotney is a journalist in Chicago.

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Nicole Stearman remembers the morning well. Around 10:30 a.m., just as her research methods class at Eastern Washington University was finishing up, she felt an abrupt sense of terror and shortness of breath. It was the start of a panic attack - not the first she'd experienced - and she knew she needed immediate help.

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IF you are reading this and are approaching the age of 40 - chances are you are going to make up the 10% of Malaysians to suffer from some form of mental illness come 2020.

The daily stresses of modern society - which are mostly connected with financial problems (due to the ever rising cost of living) - is about to get worse when Malaysia become a developed nation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that depression (a mental illness) will be the second form of health problem affecting those aged 50 and above after heart disease.

"Generally, those aged 50 and above will experience emotional, personality and character change, and decline in mind functioning," said Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, deputy director-general of Health (Public Health), at a seminar held in conjunction with World Mental Health Day in October.

Depression is a common illness worldwide, with an estimated 350 million people affected. Depression is different from usual mood fluctuations and short-lived emotional responses to challenges in everyday life.

Especially when long-lasting and with moderate or severe intensity, depression may become a serious health condition.

It can cause the affected person to suffer greatly and function poorly at work, at school and in the family. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide. Suicide results in an estimated 1 million deaths every year.

Even as a developing nation today, there is already an alarming rate in the number of suicide cases in Malaysia, with 60 people commit suicide every month in the country, according to the National Suicide Registry Malaysia.

The Health Ministry announced that more than 1,000 people have killed themselves over a 3-year period of 2007 - 2010.

What is even more alarming than the stats is the fact that more cases have gone unreported.

According to the 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 12% of Malaysians aged between 18 and 60 are suffering from some form of mental illness.

Of the percentage affected by mental illness, depression made up 2%, psychosis 1%, worrying 1.8%, while the rest involved anxiety disorder, which is a chronic disease, and mild mental diseases.

There were more men than women, the gender ratio being 2.9:1 (males: females), and ethnicity-wise, Indians had the highest suicide rate of 3.67 per 100,000. The Malays and Bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak had lower rates of 0.32 to 0.37 per 100,000.

"The onset of psychotic illness is 15 to 24 years of age for males, and 24 to 35 for females.

"The males normally start getting mental problems when they start discovering their identity. For women, the illness usually becomes apparent after they got married," revealed Hospital Putrajaya (HPJ) psychiatry department head Dr Azizul Awaluddin.

In response to the rising number of people diagnosed with mental illness, the Mental Health Community Centre was set up by the Health Ministry in November last year.

Located in Presint 11 in Putrajaya, the centre is the first of its kind in the country. It offers psychiatric community services which includes home visits so that patients are not confined to the hospital, but have the support of family and community.

In Malaysia, our health indices remain one of the best in the developing world. We have one psychiatrist to a population of 115,000, which is admirable, although ideally, as per the WHO recommendation, it should be one psychiatrist to a population of 50,000.

With a total of 252 psychiatrists and 80 clinical psychologists, as well as four mental institutions and 48 government hospitals that provide psychiatric and mental health services, Malaysia is well prepared.

The theme of World Mental Health Day in 2013 is "Mental health and older adults" which highlights the role of the government, family and community in maintaining the mental health of this group by supporting them positively in preparing for old age.

The Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) provides tips in its website on ways to face the process of aging.

It includes staying physically and mentally active, having proper nutrition, regular medical checks as well as adjusting to a different role in old age.

It's only a few years before it's 2020, so you better get started.

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More Malaysians Will Experience Mental Illness By 2020

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IF you are reading this and are approaching the age of 40 - chances are you are going to make up the 10% of Malaysians to suffer from some form of mental illness come 2020.

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The story of suicide is as old as mankind's history and has been variously romanticized and condemned, triggering many moral debates as well as being immortalized in literature.

At a glance, suicide seems to transcend culture, religion and ethnicity as its existence spans global civilizations dating back centuries. If we look at the situation globally today, suicide accounts for about 800,000 deaths annually, according to World Health Organization data up to 2012. More significantly, their statistics indicate that 20 times of that number attempt suicide annually.

Just to put things in perspective, WHO data show that the top five countries with highest suicide rates are Guyana, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Swaziland and Russia with rates ranging from 32.5 to 25.3 people per 100,000 of the population and Malaysia's rate is recorded as 0.6 per 100,000 as a matter of comparison.

However, the encouragingly low figure posted for Malaysia could also be attributed to a lack of data available as traditionally for a developing nation, the government focuses more on economic and technological development rather than mental and social welfare, which are areas that directly influence the percentage of suicide cases locally.

Another alarming fact revealed by the WHO statistics is that suicide jumps to the second leading cause of death when looking specifically at youths, among 15-29 year old globally in 2012.

When we zoom in on the local cases of suicide, another factor emerges - that youths from certain ethnic groups are more prone to suicide.
What Do We Know Of Suicide Among Youth In Malaysia
In a study published in the Asia-Pacific Psychiatry journal in June this year, the findings show that the suicide rate among youths was 1.03 per 100,000 populations in 2009, accounting for the male gender (66.0%), with Indians being the highest suicide completers (40.4% and 5.6 per 100,000 populations).

The most common method of suicide was hanging (56.6%) followed by self-poisoning (15.1%), reports the study titled 'Suicide among the the youth in Malaysia: What do we know?"

In short, the highest incidence of suicide among youths in Malaysian appear to be male and of Indian descent.

Is there a reason for Indian youths making up the majority of suicide cases when their population as a whole is not the majority race in Malaysia?

In addition, the Indian population also make up the largest percentage of Malaysians who attempt suicide, according to the article "Suicide Attempts in Malaysia from the Year 1969 to 2011" published in The Scientific World Journal in 2014.

The article which discusses research on suicide attempts in Malaysia from the year 1969 to 2011 revealed that Indians had the highest suicide attempt rates at 3.67per 100,000, followed by the Chinese at 2.44 per 100,000 and Malays had lower rates of 0.32 per 100,000.

The researchers highlighted some of their key findings as below.

"Some of the risk factors among Malaysian Indians which could explain the higher number of suicide attempts in this group including poverty (a majority of Indians are from the lower social class), alcoholism (this problem is the highest among the Indian ethnic group and it is well known as a contributory factor to the development of depression as well as ranking high as a risk factor for suicide), psychiatry morbidity, caste issues, other social distress, cultural and religious factors, and attitude to suicide.

"On the other hand, it is much more difficult for Muslims Malays to attempt suicide since it is against their religion. Education also contributed to some differences; 89% of the studies showed that suicide attempters had secondary level of education compared to primary and tertiary."

Just this year alone, some high-profile suicide cases that grabbed media headlines involved Malaysian Indians. In May, a journalist who works with a local Tamil news daily had jumped in front of a Komuter train coming from Batu Caves to the Batu Cantonment station and was instantly killed, with the gruesome image of the dismembered victim going viral online.

Another sensational suicide case involved a viral video purportedly recorded by a woman who threatened revenge from her grave before committing suicide to be followed by her one-year-old daughter's death on the same weekend.

Talk to any Malaysian Indian family and more likely than not, at least one family member knows of an acquaintance or relative who has attempted suicide. Remember the death of local Tamil drama actress K Sujatha which made headlines in Tamil dailies, Malaysia Namban and Makkal Osai in July 2007. The aspiring actress at that time had supposed died after consuming the weedkiller, paraquat over a broken love affair.

If we look in Indian literary, religious and cultural heritage, suicide is mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata and variously condemned and stipulated in the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads, according to an article titled 'Suicide: An Indian Perspective" published in the Oct-Dec 2012 Indian Journal of Psychiatry, referring among others to the infamous suicide contained in our Hindu Vedas recounting the practice of 'sati, the burning of the widow on her husband's pyre. This tradition has its roots back to Rajput, India.

Is there any truth to the link between suicide with race or ethnicity in this context? Malaysian Digest speaks to Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk M. Saravanan who offers his views on issues faced by youths in Malaysian Indian communities today.
Empowering Youth To Overcome Social Ills
According to Datuk Saravanan who is also MIC vice-president, suicide in real life is not that easy and individuals who attempt it must be desperate and driven to it by great pressure.

"People say they are cowards to do that but actually it takes lots of guts to kill themselves.

"Many of us in real life, I don't think we can do that.

"It's just that they are not guided properly. Every problem can be solved. But there is no proper guidance for those who are facing it and they feel they don't have an option".

Apart from that, Datuk Saravanan also expressed that financial constraint plays a big role in contributing to youths to develop low self-esteem and lose hope in their country and political leaders.

He also gave an example of the viral video of a law graduate who shared a bitter disappointment with working life in the big city after earning her degree , where even a graduate can't afford to buy a decent property in city, especially landed properties which is worth more than half a million with the salary he gets.

"The amount they spend to complete a degree is about 20-60, 000 but the salary you get upon completing your studies is not sufficient to even pay back your loan. Might as well you spend that money to do business where you can get returns".

There is always this dilemma where people blame the Tamil film industry for influencing the Indian community to behave inappropriately. What they depict in a movie is always based on KARMA, where you start bad, you end bad.

Datuk Saravanan acknowledged that there may be a 5-10% of influence that leads to worshipping the actors (hero) but definitely not to blame them for suicide.

What can motivate youths to avoid the social traps that lead to suicide?

"Proper education, religious guidance and economic empowerment. Definitely having financial constraint will make people forego some essentials in daily life which can have negative repercussions. The government has to assist the youth to earn a realistic income" said Datuk Saravanan.

Talking about financial constraint, how can youths avoid or escape that vicious cycle? Does the government have plans for the youths to overcome it?

Datuk Saravan drew attention to an existing programme targeted for the Indian community called the New Affirmative Action Movement (NAAM) which aims to empower Indian youth's economic status.

The main objective is to create entrepreneurs mainly in the field of agriculture and others fields that are more accessible to Malaysian Indian communities such as automobile, megatronics, oil and gas, and etc.

"Initially, the government allocated 37 million, we have received 19 million so far, as of 2014. Till today we have created 109 entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture. We also have another 500 pending as we are still waiting for funding from the government" he explained.

He also said that the funding allocated by the government in this manner for only specific programmes is a drawback. He also feels that they can reach further to people from rural areas and the estates and plantations if there is a permanent funding from the government on Malaysian Indian youth outreach programmes for the rural communities.

Apart from NAAM, other programmes are available for the youths to engage themselves.

The popular ones are Institut Kemahiran Belia dan Negara (IKBN), where they have 20 centres around Malaysia, Kolej Komuniti, and Malaysian Indian Football Association (MIFA).

He stressed that Malaysia is the only country where anybody can survive. 3 million foreign workers are surviving and sending money back to their family. Youths just need the right guidance to upgrade their lifestyle.

In conclusion, he shared a word of wisdom with Malaysian Indian youths by stressing that "succeeding is not a difficult task, it is not easy either.
"All successful people have definitely sacrificed. If you look at the success story of our country, the foundation was built up by our grandparent's hard work to develop it. Basically nothing comes easy. In Malaysia, it is not difficult to be rich, all you need is hard work".
How Many Of Them Actually Seek Help?
Befrienders KL recorded approximately 20,000 contacts overall from phone calls, email and face to face cases in 2014, Ardy Ayadali, the publicity director of Befrienders told Malaysian Digest. Ardy also highlighted that relationships, psychiatric and family issues are the top three concerns among callers.

25% of contacts expressed intention to commit suicide, while nearly half of all email contacts did so. That practically means that 1 out of 4 who contacted Befrienders had suicidal tendencies.

Based on their statistics, the majority who contacted Befrienders are from the Chinese community, followed by Malay and Indian individuals.

"I personally feel that race and ethnicity are not key factors when it comes to feeling suicidal. Human being mainly have their breaking point, or limits, and when pushed to the limits, some might break and decide to take their own life. It's about shutting out the pain that they are feeling inside, permanently" said Befriender's representative, said Ardy when contacted.

"It's very hard to deduce much from that, as we feel that our reach is not very extensive, and not everyone who is troubled or suicidal make the attempts to contact us," he observed. Researchers in past studies have also highlighted the discrepancy in available data of individuals who are successful in their self-murder attempt as opposed to the percentage who attempt suicide but are not successful or have reached out for help to NGOs like Befrienders.

According to a scientific paper published by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) titled "Half a Century of Suicide Studies - a Plea for New Directions in Research and Prevention", Prof. Dr Thambu Maniam from the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UKM had highlighted some statistics in relation to percentages of suicidal completers as opposed to suicide ideation and the link to ethnicity.

"Numerous studies in this country from the 1960s onwards have consistently shown that some sections of the community appear to be at particularly high risk.

"Reviews of the literature, by Morris and Maniam (2001) and more recently by Aishvarya et al. (2013), point to the almost invariable finding that Indians in this country show disproportionately high rates of suicide and attempted suicides, followed closely by the Chinese.

"Two studies covering a 20-year period in the relatively isolated community of Cameron Highlands revealed alarmingly high rates of suicides among the Indian population (Maniam 1988, 1994). In the first of these studies it was found that Indians had much higher suicide rates than are usually reported anywhere in the world".

The study also pointed out that when it came to statistics for suicide ideation, the ethnic composition differs.

"A more recent, albeit small, study among depressed inpatients found that the Chinese seemed to have the highest risk of attempted suicide (Chan et al. 2011). This is an unexpected finding as it differs from older studies which seemed to consistently show that Indians had the highest risk of suicidal behaviour."

This could lead to the results recorded by Befrienders of receiving more cases of those seeking help for suicidal tendencies from the Chinese community as their suicidal thoughts are countered by reaching out for help as opposed to the Indian community who either do not seek help or lack access to channels to reach out for help when overcome by suicidal tendencies.

Befrienders strongly believes in creating awareness to counter the prevailing helplessness faced by most victims.

"Creating awareness is key - where we tell people who are suicidal that they don't have to suffer alone, and that help is available. You'll be surprised that just by listening to our callers venting their feelings and telling you their stories, it reduces their suicidal intention. But it is important to listen to them non-judgmentally, and be very warm and caring.

Ardy emphasized that Befrienders continues to work with the relevant authorities to ensure they provide an effective support system to those in need in their mission to alleviate distress and help reduce the risk of suicide through emotional support and public education. They also work closely with the Minister of Health when it comes to Mental Health awareness.

"As far as I know, Befrienders are the only NGO in Malaysia that advocates publicly for suicide prevention, and our centre in KL does it 24/7. That means help is available at any time of the day. Of course, the challenge is great, because suicide and mental health issues are still quite a taboo when it comes to Malaysia. But we are slowly removing the stigma associated with it, and increasing the awareness among the community" he concluded.
-Malaysian Digest

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suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth - a closer look at the situation in malaysia

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Suicide Is The 2nd Leading Cause of Death Among Youth - A Closer Look At The Situation In Malaysia

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The story of suicide is as old as mankind's history and has been variously romanticized and condemned, triggering many moral debates as well as being immortalized in literature. At a glance, suicide seems to transcend culture, religion and ethnicity as its existence spans global civilizations dating back centuries.

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The way to avoid serious depression
-Make new friends.
-Participate in sports,job and school activities or hobbies
-Join organizations that offer programs for young people.
-Ask a trusted adult for help.

Symptoms that may indicate depression
-Poor performance in school or university.
-Sadness and hopelessness.
-Anger and rage.
-Problem with authority.
Restlessness and agitation.

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Depression leading causes of disease in the world

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Depression leading causes of disease in the world

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DEPRESSION is one of the most widespread of disorders, and often coexists with other serious illnesses.

Today, it is one of the leading causes of disease in the world. What this means is that depression is a major contributor worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability.

An estimated 400 million people in the world suffer from depression and there are about 3,000 reported suicide deaths every day.

These alarming figures are significant because the overwhelming majority of people who commit suicide are persons with mental illness, particularly depression.

The degree of pain of a person with depression can be understood if one considers that many prefer death to their suffering.

The figures mentioned here should be a wake-up call for us to address depression as a global issue. Thus, "Depression: A Global Crisis" has been chosen as the theme for World Mental Health Day 2012. This day is commemorated all over the world on October 10 each year, and it provides an excellent opportunity to highlight issues concerning mental health.
Symptoms of depression
It is important to differentiate between normal sadness and depression. Under adverse situations, like death of a relative, personal humiliation (loss of face), disappointment, or loss of social or financial status, a psychological reaction is expected, and is of course, normal.

Over a period of time, one can get over this sadness. This is an "adaptive" response to an upsetting situation.

A dysfunctional response, which means a prolongation of symptoms, usually for more than two weeks, can result in clinical depression.

A person suffering from depression may present with low mood, loss of interest in pleasurable activities (anhedonia), decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and poor concentration.

Of these, the two significant symptoms are low mood and anhedonia. These problems can become chronic, leading to substantial impairment in an individual's ability to take care of his or her every day responsibilities.

At its worst, depression can lead to suicide, or even homicide.

People who experience depression are often unable to complete daily tasks and do not enjoy activities they previously took pleasure in. They would often worry too much about the future and have negative thoughts about themselves and their circumstances.

Often, they experience irritability and agitation, and may complain of exhaustion. They may become more easily upset with those around them. Irritability, agitation and fatigue are often made worse by changes in sleeping patterns.

Depression can lead to individuals feeling trapped or hopeless about their situation, and suicidal thoughts are commonly experienced. In severe depression, these thoughts are acted upon.

On rare occasions, untreated depression can lead to danger to others as well. For example, in severe post partum depression, the suicidal mother may not want to leave the child "alone", and therefore may murder out of love, and then commit suicide.

Suicide by motor vehicle is dangerous to others as the driver has no control of the actual outcome.

Sometimes, depression can express itself in different ways. It can hide behind a variety of conditions, from being accident prone to sexual dysfunction.

It can also occur together with a great number of conditions like anxiety, panic attacks, alcoholism and drug abuse.

It can also result from physical illnesses like cancer, diabetes and chronic pain.

In some cases, depression could be masked. This is also known as "depression without depression", or "smiling depression". In such cases, the cardinal symptom of depression - low mood - is difficult to elicit and requires great clinical skills and experience on the part of the clinician.
Causes of depression
It's likely that with most instances of clinical depression, the transmission of certain chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters is disrupted. These chemicals carry signals from one part of the brain to the next.

The three important neurotransmitters that affect a person's mood are serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine. When these mood-regulating neurotransmitters fail to function properly, symptoms of depression appear.

The causes of depression, however, 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.

Having a family history of depression does not mean that a person will necessarily develop depression, but it does mean that the risk of developing depression can be higher.

There are usually other stressful life events, like failure in an examination, or a relationship breakdown, or even a chronic illness like cancer that may act as a trigger for the onset of a depressive episode.

Some personality types are more likely to develop depression. There is evidence that people who experience high anxiety levels, are very sensitive to criticism, or those who have a perfectionist personality, have a higher risk of developing depression.
Treating depression
There are two major forms of treatment for depression that may be used individually or in combination, depending on the type of depression.

Psychological treatments for mild depression provide a supportive environment for a person to work through difficulties.

Mental health professionals like psychiatrists and clinical psychologists can help by providing skills and strategies to change negative thinking patterns and behaviours that contribute to depression and to lessen underlying sensitivity to future episodes of depression.

There are a number of psychological treatments that have evidence supporting their effectiveness.

One defining aspect of clinical depression is a change in the balance of chemicals in the brain that impact on mood. Antidepressant medications, prescribed by psychiatrists, are drugs that help restore the brain's chemical balance to improve mood and relieve other symptoms of depression.

For some types of depression, particularly more severe depression, a combination of both antidepressant medication and psychological treatment has been shown to be most helpful.

Antidepressant medication helps change a person's mood and increases their responsiveness to psychological treatment.

The psychological treatment provides support and strategies to change depressed thinking and behaviour, and improves long-term coping skills to minimise future relapse.

If the depression is severe and debilitating, or if the urge to act out the suicidal thought becomes overwhelming, a brief stay in an inpatient setting might be extremely beneficial.
Prioritising mental healthcare
Investing in mental healthcare, particularly primary healthcare, can generate enormous returns in terms of reducing disability as a result of depression.

In Malaysia, we have one psychiatrist to a population of 115,000, which is admirable, although ideally, as per WHO recommendations, it should be one psychiatrist to a population of 50,000.

The number of clinical psychologists in the country, however, remains extremely low, and there is an urgent need to employ more clinical psychologists, particularly in the public sector.

In recognition of the need to prioritise mental healthcare, Health Minister Datuk Sri Liow Tiong Lai had set up the Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council, which operates directly under his supervision.

As a result of the council's recommendation, teachers from six schools across the country have been given training to provide necessary mental health intervention for students needing help.

This is a pilot project under the "Sekolah Minda Sihat"programme.

Another pilot project is the "Klinik Kesihatan Minda Sihat", where several government primary care clinics benefited from special training in mental health with the aim of having the capability to provide comprehensive mental health services to the community.

While the government takes a serious view of mental health issues, the private sector too must play it's part.

In developed countries like the United States, it has been estimated that 35-45% of absenteeism from work is due to mental health problems, namely depression. Corporate houses in our country have not woken up to the fact that depression at the work place, often disguised as physical complaints, can result in a huge loss in productivity.

It would be advisable for big corporations to invest in some form of Employee Assistance Programme in order to take proactive measures to prevent work place stress and depression.

Finally, suffering from depression is not something to be ashamed of, or something to feel guilty about. It is not a character flaw or a sign of weakness. Neither is it a lack in discipline or personal strength.

However, it is also not just a "mood" that someone can "snap out of". Depression is a serious condition that can burden not only the individual, but also the nation at large. A holistic approach towards tackling this crisis is necessary.

Early diagnosis, improving accessibility to services, greater empathy, and the reduction of stigma and discrimination will go a long way towards facing this crisis.

The government, non-government organisations and corporate bodies must each play their role in the removal of barriers towards accessing appropriate healthcare for those suffering from depression.

In addition, every effort must be made to promote good mental health for all as part of our transformation towards the status of a developed nation.
Dr Andrew Mohanraj is associate professor in psychiatry at Perdana University Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Kuala Lumpur. He is also a member of the Mental Health Promotion Advisory Council to the Minister of Health, Malaysia.

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Depression is widespread - Health | The Star Online

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DEPRESSION is one of the most widespread of disorders, and often coexists with other serious illnesses. Today, it is one of the leading causes of disease in the world. What this means is that depression is a major contributor worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability.

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by Dian Mashita Few days ago, Malaysians were astounded by the headlines of 17-year old teenager, Sally Lee Qian Chun who ended her own life by jumping from the second-floor of her school. "17-year old plunges to her death in front of shocked classmates" She was said to post statuses and comments on her Facebook...

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suicide cases in Malaysia

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Minutes later, up to 204 Facebook members "liked" his suicidal status post on his Facebook wall, but sadly no one stopped him or alerted his family on his suicidal intentions.

A student, age 18, fell to his death from the fourth floor of his school's building moments after attending a counselling session after a female student made a complain that he had deliberately bumped into her.He died on the spot from multiple injuries. The male student does not have any disciplinary problem at school.

A grandma, age 80, jumped from the corridor on the third floor of her apartment building. Before the incident, she had an heated argument with her son and daughter in law in their house. During the argument, she allegedly threw a knife which landed on her 3-year old granddaughter, who was sleeping nearby. The child was seriously injured on her head.Seeing the injuries, she panicked and ran out of their house.

A teenage girl, age 17,found hanged from a baby cradle hanger at a bakery.Police found the girl's body leaning against a wall with the hanger on her neck and there was no signs of struggle.

An adult male, age 43, hanged himself due to family problems. Prior to his death, he had confided with his wife that he felt disappointed with himself because he could not take care of the family.The family is very poor (hardcore poor).The couple have five children aged aged between two and twelve.

An adult male, age 33, found lying motionless in a hotel room. He is believed to have committed suicide. A hotel worker broke open the door after knocking and getting no response and smelling smoke coming from inside the room.The worker found the man dead and some burnt charcoal in the room.

An adult male, age 40, took his life by hanging himself on a tree. He had attempted suicide twice before, but failed because he was noticed by his family members.His brother believes it was stress which had caused him to committ suicide.

A woman, age 64, was found hanging from a curtain rail at a window of a flat. She was living with her son at the flat. It was believed that she had an argument with her son some days ago before she committed suicide. Her body was discovered by her son's friend.

A young boy, age 12, hanged himself using his shoelaces (one metre long) at his home. He was apparently upset when he was not able visit his grandfather.He had asked his father to send him to his grandfather's house so that he could spend time with his granfather during the school holidays. However, his father was not able to send due to his busy work schedule.

An adult male, age 38, hanged himself from a tree on his wedding day. His body was found by passers-by who later alerted the police.Family members were puzzled as to why he chose to commit suicide on his wedding day.

An adult male, age 59, hanged himself with his belt at the gate of a woman's house. It is believed that the man had feelings for the woman who is 51 years old and they had known each other for quite some time. He took his life due to frustration when the woman would not return his feelings for her.

A young male, age 21, found hanged from a window grille of his rented house. He was pursuing a Diploma In Management and he was in his final semester. He called his mother to infrom her that he could not go back for holidays because he had to finish his many assignments.His mother said that he was happy and in his usual self the time he called.She does not understand why he took his life.

A young girl, age 12, found hanged at her home. She was still alive when her family found but later died at the hospital. According to her father, she had been very disappointed with her UPSR results. She was confident of scoring at least 4A's but she only managed to get 4B's,2C's and 1D.

An adult male, age 51, took his own life when he failed to settle his RM12,500 debt to the loan sharks.He left a suicide note saying that he had only borrowed RM9000 from the loan sharks but was asked to repay twice the amount.He said that he was assaulted by them and took away his taxi. The loan sharks are also taxi drivers.

A teenage boy, age 13, hanged himself using a rope tied to a railing after being scolded by his father. His father scolded him for going on a joy ride with his friends and coming home late. The boy suffers from asthma. His body was found by his mother in the bathroom.

* All the above mentioned cases are true suicide cases which can be found in the local dailies. Names and places and other information have been omitted as a sign of respect to the deceased and immediate family members.These are just a few reported cases, it is believed many suicide cases go undetected. The information contained in this post is for general educational purposes only.

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Minutes later, up to 204 Facebook members "liked" his suicidal status post on his Facebook wall, but sadly no one stopped him or alerted his family on his suicidal intentions.

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 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey

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 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey

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12% Malaysians suffer from some forms of mental illness

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PUTRAJAYA (Feb 16, 2012): Mental health is now a mind-bogging problem in the country, with more people believed to be experiencing some sorts of emotional stress and mental distress. According to the 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 12% of Malaysians aged between 18 and 60 are suffering from some forms of mental illness.