To most people, eating is the easiest thing in the world. But for an anorexic, someone whose life has for a long time been centred on extreme and rigid control over food, you could say that there is some degree of anxiety that comes with it. Why is this so? To understand this, one must […]
Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah had worded perfectly what one of the common stigmas surrounding “mental illness” has been (in the context of a lack of awareness): “Mental health is a very misunderstood issue and many associate it with madness. We should not simply dismiss […]
Let us first realise that mental health is very real. However, although mental health is very real – it may not necessarily always be obvious. We now start to see the subtle signs he’s left behind. The tattoo of a black dog on his left ribcage (a symbolism first introduced by Winston Churchill to describe […]
It’s the best time of the year! For the mentally ill, festive seasons can be of little cheer. The hustle of festivities, the expenses incurred, and the hosting of visitors can be overwhelming. There is also the unspoken pressure to look cheerful. 2017 has been encouraging for mental health advocacy in Malaysia. Mental health issues have […]
Yesterday my mum got a message from a friend saying her cousin who lives in KL was having suicidal thoughts. As I am a licensed counselor, I asked her friend a few questions to know in what mental state that her cousin is in. We spoke over the phone and she told me her cousin (let’s use […]
It’s bittersweet to see more and more mainstream news outlets cover mental health issues (a step in the right direction) but while using language that perpetuates stereotypes and stigma. A recent NST headlines screamed : “[Exclusive] Overworked souls risk going mental and dying early”. The Oxford Dictionary defines “Going mental” as informal phrase that means […]
