12 minutes
PETALING JAYA: People with mental health issues make up the lion’s share of those who call Talian Kasih to seek help or advice or just to talk.
More disconcerting is the fact that more than half of children who call the help line do it because they feel lonely, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh (pix).
Yeoh, who was speaking at an event to mark World Mental Health Day in Puchong, near here, yesterday, said Talian Kasih received 79,659 calls from May 2015 to September 2019.
“While there were only 264 calls from those aged 18 and below, it was worrying that a staggering 56% of them say they felt lonely,” she said, citing a study by her ministry.
“These children just call to chat because they have no one to talk to or there is no one else at home to have a conversation with,” she added.
Over time, they resort to gadgets to while away the time. A study by the ministry shows that the number of 13-year-olds turning their attention to gadgets had risen by 18% while for 18-year-olds, it has gone up by 38%.
“What’s more worrying is that six out of seven high school students are active internet users and they are likely to resort to watching pornographic videos or be involved in cyber bullying and sharing information online that can influence their behaviour.
Yeoh advised parents to spend more time with their children. “Have a chat with them. Ask them about their day,” she said. “Granted you have to work on weekdays, but spend the weekends with your children.”
She noted that most parents chose to avoid having serious talks with their children because they have the impression that the young ones would not understand.
Another cause for concern is that about 30% of the calls received by Talian Kasih came from those with issues concerning their mental well-being.
Yeoh said organising programmes or activities for children during school holidays could help to keep mental illness at bay.
She suggested that non-profit organisations work together with the local community to organise these programmes to help people fill their free time.
Yeoh also announced that her ministry was already collaborating with college students in a “listening” project.
The project involves having the students place chairs in shopping malls so people could just sit down and share their activities or their problems with the students, she said.
She said that since the project was launched in 2014, the students had successfully prevented three suicide attempts by just listening.
