By Vincent D’Silva
JOHOR BARU – Mental health-suicide among adolescents has been a growing concern. The national health and morbidity survey 2022-adolescent health survey shows that 1 in 8 adolescents had suicidal thoughts and one in 10 had actually attempted suicide.

Ryaliratna Manjari was speaking to some 300 students of International Schools and teachers from English College and Sultan Ibrahim Girls School.

The talk was organised by the Rotary Club of Johor Baru (RCJB) and hosted by the Interact Club of 100 Lambs International School.

She said there is a need to create awareness as a national survey has revealed that Malaysians aged 13 to 27 are critically suffering from mental health problems.

One in five are suffering depression (18.3%), two in five anxiety (39.7%), and one in 10 suffering from stress (9.6%).

Manjari is an Applied Psychologist (Clinical) at Gleneagles Medini Hospital and a consultant Clinical Psychologist at Kensington Green Specialist Centre, Iskandar Puteri.

In her talk themed Mental Health, she told her audience that the national health and morbidity survey 2022 shows that there has been an increase in the suicide attempts rate between 2012 (6.8%) – 2022 (9.5%).

She stressed that Health Minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa said that children and adolescents have been identified as the groups that are at risk of mental disorders, but the issue is not getting the attention it deserves.

Manjari said Health Minister highlighted this issue that that based on clinical observations, “most teenage patients who come to clinics have started to harm themselves to release the emotional stress they are experiencing.”

The Health Minister had in a recent speech in JB explained that this inflicted on the affected children and adolescents a sense of shame. That they are inconveniencing others adds t o the sense of guilt. At the same the students feel, unjustifiably so, they are exhibiting incompetence.

Manjari agreed that the state of mental health among Malaysian adolescents had reached a worrying state.

Not mincing her words, she said examination stress could be a contributing factor in addition to factors like parenting skills and style, parents and students expectations, peer pressure, body/self-image, also, undeniably, the influence of the social media,

Parents, she said have a major role to play all the time, adding that, “It doesn’t mean we do helicopter parenting.”

She explained that we may want to consider focusing on communication, be there for the child physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually and be supportive.

She lamented the fact that parents imposing high expectations on children can be another cause of mental torture.

Manjari further explained that we are living in a mechanical world where parents are busy with their work, have their own stress to deal with in day to day life.

She made it clear that we have to focus on both the parties at home – parents and the children/child.

In a broader perspective, she said we also have to look at the education system and teachers’ expectations of a bright student.

“The child/student’s understanding of self and his own expectations,(leave alone parental or teachers) also play a significant role in dealing with the problems in their environment,” she remarked.

She said the child may be is more interested in learning about everything from the social media that parents at home.

“The common answer that I get to hear from the teens especially is that there is a generation gap between them and the parents,” she said.

She said positive parenting, school inclusiveness and recognition of early warning signs of mental health issues were important factors that could help play a role in reducing mental disorders.

She added that social skills training for both parents and children in problem solving as well as interpersonal skills equipping were equally important.

Quoting consultant pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist Dr. N. Thiyagar, she said, “depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders were among the leading causes of illness and disability among children and teenagers.

Dr. Thiyagar, who is also the Malaysian Pediatric Association executive committee member, had highlighted that suicide was the fourth leading cause of death among those aged between 15 and 19, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Mental health issues, Manjari said, must be addressed before they affect how one functions.

As humans, we have to manoeuvre and manage challenges through many developmental stages of life.

Lack of interest in their studies may be a reflection of family issues students are facing at home.

With the right care and understanding, these students can become valuable talents who can contribute to nation building, said Manjari.

“Education on adopting a healthy lifestyle, recognition of early warning signs, early intervention and prevention of social discrimination also helps,” she said.

She called on students to ensure they focus on self-identity, the obstacles at every stage of development in adolescence, the discrimination between the good and bad with so much of information to choose/decide from, the decision to get influenced positively/negatively and finally determined to transform abstract dreams into actionable goals.