LETTERS: What if you were told that a majority of suicide victims are young people and for every 10 of them, six suffer from mental health issues? What if one of the six is your child?
Mental health issues are not solely mental illness, such as depression or suicidal ideation, and if not taken care of, they will develop into something serious.
Mental health is about mental wellbeing, emotional stability and how well that person copes with stress, overcomes difficulties and maintains social connections.
Mental health, in its own way, is similar to physical health.
Physically speaking, when people’s diet is full of calories and fat, and if they do not exercise, they may develop high-blood pressure or high-blood glucose.
The same applies to mental health, in which when people’s lives are full of stress and they do not haveaway to relieve the stress.
The National Health and Morbidity Survey said one in 10 young people has problems dealing with stress. However, some adults brush it off. Some are even worse, saying that youth are too weak and can’t take a punch.
This statement is unfair and ridiculous. The education system is daunting and puts a lot of pressure on students.
In an examination result-oriented era, the stress on them is unimaginable as they do not want to disappoint their parents.
In dealing with youth mental health, parents and teachers play the most important roles because they are the closest to youths.
It is a capitalists world, where parents don’t have time to talk to their children.
When children go to their parents for help, they should not be ignored and parents should always support their children.
As for teachers, they should spend five minutes listening to students, understanding their problems and guiding them.
However, as technology continues to advance, the Internet and social media platform have become the dominant factors in our lives and can impact the mental health of youth.
Malaysians generally are ignorant about mental health issues. What we can do is to listen and engage with youth. And if you are reading this and planning to commit suicide, please seek help.
Live another day and you may just find one beautiful thing that can lead to a beautiful future that you hoped for.
AMIR JALAL, CHIA CHU HANG
Emir Research, Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times.