Mental Disorder

Letter to Editor

Mental health problems, especially stress-related ones among Malaysians are a matter of serious concern and need to be addressed urgently at the workplace so that problems like depression, mental illness and psychiatric disorders can be avoided.

Although a 1996 national health study found mental illness to be prevalent in about 10.7 % of the population, the facts seem to indicate a surge in mental illness which are the manifestations of the ill effects of urbanization, stress and poor mental health. We cannot be unconcerned over the increasing spate of incidents involving the mentally ill or those suffering from mental disorders.

In previous years mental health has been a topic of low priority for the government and the community as compared to other health problems. But increasingly as reflected worldwide, mental health has gained more prominence.

In Malaysia we need to do more for those who suffer from mental illness. On the welfare services front, the government should include the mentally ill as disabled persons and brought under the category of ‘orang kurang upaya’ and they should be accorded opportunities in employment to help them return to society and not be a burden to it.

Mental disorders is a subject very few people wish to talk about but it is a reality which we have to grapple with. Amok and suicide cases reported in the media from time to time involving mentally sick persons, which are of concern to us, are tragic reminders of another side of life less talked about but nevertheless very real.

NIOSH is of the view that urgent steps need to be taken to address mental and health issues at workplaces involving employers, employees and the relevant authorities.

In line with this, it might be timely for the government to introduce guidelines for mental health care promotion to enable implementation of basic measures to be adopted and implemented by employers at workplaces, suited for the practical conditions of each enterprise.

In promoting mental health care, the employers should consider the specific nature of mental health problems, consideration of individual worker privacy, relationship with human resource management policies and issues emanating from problems related to family or individual lifestyles.

Employers should use Safety and Health Committees at the workplace to examine and clearly identify the current situation and problems relating to the promotion of mental health care at workplaces and to formulate a fundamental programme focusing on the following:-

a) identification of problems at workplaces related to poor mental which needs to be addressed;
b) securing the necessary resources to develop the mental health care programme;
c) improving the work environment;
d) taking steps for mental health promotion involving the employees;
e) remove all forms of discrimination against persons who have recovered from mental illness so that they can be successfully reintegrated into society just as we want to see rehabilitated drug dependants get back into the mainstream of society;
f) making available an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which can provide both prevention and early intervention for employee problems related to mental health, stress and emotional issues which affect job performance. Funds expended on EAPs have documented investment returns in such areas as productivity and work performance. Companies are finding that investing in employee’ emotional well-being can mean a healthier bottom line.

Promoting mental health requires joint efforts between the government and relevant NGOs as well as volunteers working in unison to promote mental well-being. A comprehensive community mental health programme is therefore needed to encourage the community to be better informed about mental health issues and how they can play an effective role in promoting mental health and helping the mentally ill.

Sharing existing resources with relevant government agencies and NGOs, mental health professionals, volunteers and community leaders is necessary to address the needs of people with mental health problems.

The shift of focus from institutionalized care to Community Mental Health service is the direction of future psychiatric services. The national mental health policy advocates community participation in the planning, management and evaluation of community based activities.