Promote mental health at schools and workplaces

I REFER to a news report published on June 30 of a female student in Penang who apparently committed suicide due to pressures of pre-university studies.
Unfortunately, this news was not reported in the English language papers. The deceased who scored 10 As in her SPM exams aspired to be a lawyer. She was attending a pre-university course and her family members, friends and teachers noticed that she was not her normal self of late. It was believed that her inability to handle the growing pressures of studies drove her to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony of a 7th floor apartment in Penang.
I remember when I was in school, my favourite teacher, Mrs Tan drew a picture of a dolphin on the black board using chalk.
She then asked us in Bahasa Malaysia what was it that she drew? And we answered in unison "Ikan lumba-lumba"! She said that in studies, we need to be like the dolphins and asked us to inculcate a healthy competition or "semangat berlumba-lumba".
My friends and I were indeed very competitive when it came to studies that we would cry if we got anything less than an "A"! Nothing wrong with that if we can use that experience to improve ourselves.
However, the problem starts when we dwell on the disappointments and cannot pick ourselves up.
According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, about 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 years and above, or 29.2% of the population, suffered from various mental problems.
The number is alarming as it shows that one out three Malaysians suffers from mental problems. According to the survey, there is an increase of 11.2% since 2006. Many are silently suffering from mental problems. Nobody knows until something serious like a suicide happens.
I believe that in everything that we do, there needs to be a balance. It's excellent to have a competitive nature but we need to have a healthy competitive nature.
First step is to identify and admit there's a problem. Next step is to seek help.
The stigma over mental health cannot be ignored and must be addressed. Awareness must be created in schools, through education and campaigns.
The government must introduce guidelines to promote mental health at schools or workplaces and encourage campaigns to create awareness of the issue to provide both prevention and early intervention for students and employees affected by stress, emotional and mental health issues.
Nicole Tan Lee Koon
Seremban