KUALA LUMPUR: With mental health issues on the rise, the government should increase access to counselling services and the availability of adequate resources to match such services.
Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Professor Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said 90 per cent of suicide cases and attempted suicide cases were caused by underlying depression.
He said it was important for persons with symptoms of depression to seek help early before it becomes severe and suicidal thoughts set in.
"Reaching out to a suicidal person at the opportune moment can often result in saving precious life, especially when the person is battling with an emotional crisis.
"Creating awareness on depression and suicide with a focus on stigma reduction will help mitigate the problem to some extent," he told the New Straits Times.
He said youth suicide in particular was increasing, thus boosting awareness and preventative programmes in schools would be the way to go.
"We have 20,000 counsellors in our public schools in the country. Some capacity building for them would be a clever way of task shifting.
"These counsellors can then be further equipped in early detection, interim counselling and appropriate referral."
Dr Andrew, who is a consultant psychiatrist, said non-governmental organisations in Malaysia have also risen to the occasion by offering counselling services through helplines, a service which he said had since been "oversubscribed" since the pandemic.
He said although the suicide rate in Malaysia was 5.5 per 100,000 compared to many other countries worldwide, he was doubtful that the figure reflected the actual situation.
The actual number, he added, was likely to be much higher as a significant number of cases are underreported.
"For example, a person who committed suicide due to hanging may have his cause of death in the death certificate written as 'death due to asphyxiation', which is technically correct but does not give the full picture.
"What is certainly more alarming is that there are more and more young people attempting suicide and these figures have increased since the beginning of the pandemic," added Dr Andrew.
He noted that the subject of mental health, while still a taboo in Asian culture, was slowly becoming a conversation within a society, but stressed that the country still had a long way to go.
It was vital, he said, to make the topic of mental health more mainstream, including looking into accessibility to mental health care, stigma and discrimination, and even leadership in mental health.
Dr Andrew said countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have taken mental health out of the ambit of "health" and tended to look at the issue more holistically with stakeholders coming from various sectors.
"They even have junior ministers for mental health. It is time for us to recognise the importance of leadership in mental health so the subject of mental health and persons with psychosocial disabilities and their caregivers are given the dignity they deserve."
Dr Andrew said mental health conditions respond very well to the appropriate treatment, and in some cases could be fully cured provided they are detected early and the right treatment was given.
In many cases, he added, counselling or psychological input known as "talk therapy" may be sufficient and not all cases need medications.
"The important thing to do is to ensure the safety of the person concerned until professional help is obtained if required.
"Persons with suicidal thoughts need to reach out to someone close and confide in them.
"Friends and families can offer emotional support which includes passive listening without being judgmental.
"Sometimes, just listening is all that is required for that particular moment and ensure the safety of the person in crisis until professional help is sorted out," he said, adding that professional helplines run by Befrienders Malaysia and MMHA, among others, were available.
Dr Andrew said MMHA is working in collaboration with the Green Ribbon Group to run a suicide prevention programme called "A Conversation on Suicide", given free to community leaders including Rukun Tetangga, People's Housing Project and high-rise accommodation management committees.
"We have now even expanded this to include secondary school teachers," he added.
