By ILONA ANDREW
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Health Department provides assistance and support via its Mental Health Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) service for those dealing with emotional problems.
State Health Director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said, the MHPSS service is available in all districts across the state, while psychiatric treatment is offered in several specialist hospitals.
“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), suicide is among the ten main causes of death in the world and the second among individuals aged 15 to 29.
“Suicide cases in the state, too, are on the rise; the most recent attempt involved a family of four in Kota Kinabalu. This is a very worrying and needs to be taken seriously,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
Certain life events can affect one’s mental health, Christina said, and the Covid-19 outbreak is one of the them which undeniably has impacted many people in several ways.
“The implementation of the movement control order (MCO) may cause one to feel confined, isolated, bored and even depressed. Many may even experience financial difficulties.
“Covid-19 patients and their close contacts may feel insignificant as they get stigmatised by the society.
“Frontliners are also likely to be stressed as they work restlessly while worrying over the possibility of being infected,” she said, adding that a lot of people are still struggling to go about their lives under the new normal.
A programme called “Let’s Talk Mental Health” was also initiated by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to encourage people to have non-judgmental communication and seek necessary help.
Those who wish to talk about their problems anonymously can also contact the Befrienders at 088-255755 or 016-8036945 (WhatsApp), or email [email protected]
