GEORGE TOWN: A hypnotherapist has suggested that elected representatives use hypnotherapy at their service centres as a means to help deal with the growing rate of depression due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This kind of therapy can drastically change human social skills and expectations, said International College of Clinical Hypnotherapy Practitioners Asia regional director Synthia Surin today.
Being cooped up in small living space, the need for social distancing besides dealing with work from home, as well as limiting social interaction, can be unsettling, she added.
Due to these issues, plus the fear of losing one’s income, many people are suffering from fatique and stress, Surin said.
She urged selected representatives to set up centres with trained counsellors to assist public helplines such as Befrienders to mitigate stress.
Surin said her organisation is now working with the Wawasan Open University to provide what is described as a first aid psychology service for the troubled.
We are open to training more people including the staff at our Yang Berhormat’s (YBs) centres to help authorities mitigate mental health issues” she said.
She was commenting on three cases which occurred in Penang over the weekend – an 18-year-old college student who allegedly dumped her newborn baby girl, a teenager committed suicide because her mother was unable to make it for her coming of age celebration and a father who abused his four-year-old son because of alleged alcohol problems.
It was reported that some 4.2 million Malaysians are suffering from some form of mental health issues of which half of them are women.
In the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 study, the prevalence of mental health issues among adults, aged 16 and above, is 29.2%, or 4.2 million people.
Surin also wants the Malaysian Employers Federation to ensure that each employer has a counselling unit to treat workers suffering from depression.
She said the Health Ministry and private healthcare service providers can join forces to train as many people as possible to deal with this mental issue.
“A trained person can disrupt a suicidal person’s train of thought. We must also know what and when to say things which can calm a depressed person instead of making things worst for the individual,“ she added.
