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Relate INSIGHTS 2021/02 – Economic Cost of Youth Suicide in Malaysia

The government has found a rising trend in suicide among youths in Malaysia. It is estimated that in 2019, 512 youths ended their lives by suicide (74.3% of whom were young males). Besides the immeasurable emotional toll due to suicides on families, suicides have an economic impact on communities, societies and the nation, with loss of manpower and income for families, employers and the government. This paper estimates the economic cost of youth suicide in 2019 based on the economic loss due to foregone income and the loss of potential government revenue due to foregone personal taxes. In 2019, youth suicide is estimated to cost the Malaysian economy a high price of RM346.2 million or RM676,165 per suicide. The investment in Malaysia’s economy must include an investment in the mental health of young people, including the development of effective suicide prevention strategies.

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Relate INSIGHTS 2021/01 – Idioms of Distress and Indigenous Healing System in Asia

The movement for global mental health (MGMH) has been initiated to improve mental health care services in countries where such services are scarce. However, one of the criticisms of the MGMH is its’ overemphasis on Western mental health approaches that may not be generalized to other cultures, particularly those in developing and non-Western countries. This article aims to examine the importance of recognizing local idioms of distress, and integrating indigenous healing systems into mental health care by using Asia as a case example.

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Introduction to Interpersonal Psychotherapy

By Chua Sook Ning, PhD One of the things that drew me to interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) was IPT’s emphasis on interpersonal relationships. Whereas cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on thoughts/behaviors, emotion focused therapy on emotions, IPT draws attention to a person’s interpersonal functioning. Thus, IPT is particularly well-suited for collectivistic cultures given the importance of relationships […]

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Relate INSIGHTS 2020/04 – Overworked, Underpaid and Stigmatized: Economic and Psychological Factors Contributing to Diminished Worker Mental Health in Asia

Emerging and developing Asian economies reflects the region’s rapid transformation from agricultural to manufacturing and services-based industries. The region’s economic growth, however, may have come at cost of its workers’ mental health. Workers in Asia spend, on average, more hours at work per week than workers outside of Asia, leading to reports of increased burnout and mental health issues. Broad, macro-level economic factors such as job insecurity, evolving labor markets and increasing use of technology in modern workplaces explain provide only a partial explanation for the rise of mental health concerns in the region. Psychological factors – particularly the work ethos and cultural acceptance of prolonged work hours may be inadvertently contributing to adverse mental health consequences among Asian workers. Any intervention aimed at addressing mental health concerns in Asian workplaces needs to account for the complex interplay between economic and psychological factors and work toward de-stigmatization of mental health concerns that remain prevalent in this region.

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Relate INSIGHTS 2020/03 – The Pandemic: A Greater Call for the Reformation of the Law on Attempted Suicide?

1. Create awareness on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health in Malaysia.
2. Create awareness on the growing rate of the statistics of suicide in Malaysia.
3. Explain the origin of the law criminalising attempted suicide, and countries that have since decriminalised it.
4. Affirm the urgent need for reformation of the law of attempted suicide in Malaysia.