BY: KEN WATANABE

The Covid-19 pandemic did much more damage than spreading the coronavirus. It wreaked havoc on the mental health of many Malaysians as it triggered disorientation, depression and a sense of despair and despondency.

Even many right thinking Malaysians fell victim to a range of mental health issues ranging from financial crises, loss of employment, ill health and a dejected sense of doom and gloom that pervaded not just this nation but worldwide.

Therefore, when in public or in social gatherings it is quite common to witness inappropriate behaviour expressed by persons suffering from mental health issues and this is now a cause of real concern to the authorities.

Leading psychiatrists and psychologists in the country are quick to point out that while there is no register of those who are mentally ill, a guesstimate by most of them is that currently between 10 to 30 percent of Malaysians have some form of mental illness.

Given the wide range of Malaysians in this category, people who are ill should come forward and seek help although there is still a stigma and the mentally ill are shunned and ostracised for their different thinking and being.

The Malaysian government must go to the ground to educate and create awareness among people that mental illnesses are treatable and curable and there is hope for sufferers to recover and go back to society and live productive, useful lives.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher