Starting June 1, MIASA Crisis Helpline Has a New Number

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

WHY YOU SHOULD CALL THE MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS AND SUPPORT ASSOCIATION (MIASA) CRISIS LINE WHEN YOU NEED HELP & PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT
  • There are more than 150 trained volunteers behind the MIASA Crisis Helpline,
  • These volunteers are capable of assisting both English- and Malay-speaking callers.
  • Anyone who needs someone to speak with in times of crisis or to get psychological support can reach out to the helpline at any time, as it operates 24 hours a day, every day.

“It is our hope that those who are struggling with mental health issues will seek help and find support by simply speaking to someone who cares, like our volunteers at the crisis helpline,” says Puan Anita Abu Bakar, the President and founder of MIASA.

The MIASA Crisis Helpline is reachable at 1800-1800-66. You can call at any time and any day for help.

IMU Counsellors Open Up About Mental Health Issues Among University Students

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

The 2015 Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey found the prevalence of mental health problems has increased from 10.6% in 1996 to 29.2% in 2015.

The prevalence is highest among those aged 16 to 19, with 18.3% having depression and 10% having suicidal thoughts.

Some of the factors associated with this increase include:

  • Unemployment
  • Financial difficulties
  • Family and relationship problems
  • Poor coping skills
  • Insufficient social support
WHAT IS KEEPING OUR YOUTH FROM SEEKING HELP?

Barriers that are keeping young adults from seeking help include:

  • Poor understanding of mental health problems
  • Fear of social stigma or embarrassment
  • Lack of social support
  • Difficulty in accessing professional services

Counsellors of the International Medical University (IMU) recently issued a statement that mental health issues can be even more prevalent among tertiary students that study abroad.

To circumvent this issue, International Medical University (IMU) and other tertiary education institutes often work closely with their partner schools to ensure full support and care for the wellbeing of their students, and to provide benchmarks on how their students are actually coping overseas.

Such support can come in the form of student-led initiatives such as peer-to-peer support—when students effectively reach out to one another—as well as counselling sessions with academic leads, senior tutors, and/or professional advisers.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE SIGNS

According to the IMU Self-Development Unit counsellors, we should watch out for these signs

  • Disturbed sleep patterns, such as difficulties falling asleep or waking up, waking up in the middle of the night, or excessive sleep.
  • Emotional outbursts, such as being very sensitive and easily irritated or angry.
  • Persistent fatigue.
  • Poor concentration, such as losing track of conversations.
  • Significant changes in eating habits and/or weight change that is not caused by a health issue.
  • Withdrawal from social activities—not making eye contact, being less active or significantly quieter or not participating when in social groups.

The IMU Self-Development Unit notes that some of these warning signs can be easily misunderstood or misconstrued in different social contexts. Hence, it is important to have patience in understanding a person’s behaviours when these could indicate possible mental health risk.

OFFER SUPPORT & HELP

The next step is to offer support to someone who is struggling, and the IMU Self-Development Unit counsellors says that listening to our intuition is very important.

Very often, the signs are there that tell us something is wrong, but we may turn a blind eye and ignore them. In some instances, we may even feel concerned about our own safety.

Here is their advice, based on the NEC model:

  1. Notice. Tell the person what you’ve observed that has worried you, such as “I noticed that you haven’t been eating/sleeping much lately.”
  2. Express concern. Let them know that you are worried about them and offer them space and privacy to listen to them and support them in any way such.
  3. Connect them to someone who can help. Suggest a person or resource where they can get the help they need or offer to accompany them when they are ready to seek professional help.
For a more comprehensive list of mental health resources across Malaysia, check out https://sites.google.com/view/psymalaysia/ (link opens in a new tab).

Can Stress Cause Heart Diseases in Young Adults? A Cardiologist Explains

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

HOW COMMON IS HEART DISEASE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS? 
Dr Timothy:

Heart disease is common. In general, the risk factors are:

  • Male gender
  • Advancing age
  • Smoking
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure or hypertension
  • High levels of fats in the blood or hyperlipidaemia
  • Family history
  • Physical inactivity.

Young people that develop heart disease often are significantly overweight, or they have smoking or uncontrolled diabetes from young as major risk factors.

HOW ABOUT FATAL HEART DISEASE?
Dr Timothy:

Fatal heart disease is rare in otherwise apparently fit young people.

Nonetheless, we all know of people that have heart attacks or those who even collapse at a young age.

In many cases there is an underlying driving factor, such as smoking, or an underlying heart muscle defect such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

CAN STRESS INCREASE A YOUNG ADULT’S RISK OF HEART DISEASE?
Dr Timothy:

Stress may also play a role, but this is hard to define. Stress is a very personal matter.

For example, some people thrive in stressful environments, while others struggle. How this translates into cardiac risk is not clear-cut, especially as there is no universal definition or measurement scale for stress.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNGER ADULTS WHEN IT COMES TO STRESS MANAGEMENT?
Dr Timothy:

We all feel stressed. Sometimes it can be a motivating factor, but sometimes it can be overwhelming and daunting.

It is important to be comfortable and happy in life. Find things you enjoy.

Work hard but don’t do things to excess. This includes overworking, overeating, etc.

Find a job you enjoy. After all, you will spend a significant amount of your time at work.

Find time to relax yourself and keep your body fit and healthy. A simple evening walk may be enough. Jogging or cycling with your family may be even better.

Good Food, Good Mood: The Science Behind Nutrition and Mental Health

WORDS LEE JIE YEE & DR HASLINA ABDUL HAMID

DO YOU KNOW?

Your brain is always working hard 24/7.

It takes charge of almost every daily activity—your movement, body temperature, hunger, memory, and thoughts.

It can also affect your moods, emotions, and eventually your mental health.

HOW YOUR FOOD INTAKE CAN AFFECT YOUR MOODS & BRAIN 

Choosing the right food is important not only for physical health, as what the common nutrition research shows, but also for your mind.

Well-balanced, nutritious foods help your bodies (and brains) to function well

As a matter of fact, the brain accounts for about 20% of your total daily energy requirements. From macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) to micronutrients (the vitamins and minerals), all of these play a role in brain health and function.

A healthy diet promotes a healthy gut, which communicates with the brain through what is known as the gut-brain axis

In our gut, billions of microbiota profoundly affect this gut-brain relationship.

Don’t underestimate these tiny little organisms, as they take charge of producing mood-regulating chemical substances, namely serotonin and dopamine.

Serotonin and dopamine, our body’s natural ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters, help us to regulate emotions, sleep, and appetite. They are connected to our brain’s reward system and help to produce a happy sensation.

Since more than 90% of serotonin resides in the gut, taking good care of our stomach with food can transmit a happy signal to our brain.

Too happy isn’t always good, though! Don’t get too carried away with comfort foods

In stress-inducing situations, people tend to reach for comfort foods. However, these foods are usually high in fats and sugars, which makes them addictive. Yes indeed, the sugar is creating a surge of dopamine and a short boost of happiness.

However, other than contributing an exceeding amount of calories, these comfort foods also lacks essential nutrients such as omega-3 and vitamin B fatty acids and vitamin D, which are beneficial for your nervous system that regulates emotions.

Besides, high consumption of these calorie-dense foods might result in obesity, which is known to stimulate proinflammatory status—a plausible way to increase depression risk.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TYPES OF DIET TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL WELL-BEING?

Studies found that following a healthy eating pattern is associated with better stress management, improved sleep quality, increased concentration, and better mental well-being in general.

However, an emerging field of research known as nutrition psychiatry looks into a more specific relationship between diet and mental health. A few types of diet have been identified to be likely helpful for mental well-being.

Mediterranean diet
  • The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and healthy fats (such as olive oil) while limiting dairy products, red meat, alcohol, and processed foods.
  • The reason why the Mediterranean diet is beneficial to mental health could be due to its anti-inflammatory effects of the food components and the high content of antioxidants.
  • This diet might be relatively helpful in reducing the risk of depression as well as improving cognitive function.
  • If you are already dealing with depression, the depressive symptoms might reduce over time while preventing its remission.
  • The Mediterranean diet is also rich in selenium, tryptophan, omega-3, and vitamin D, which can help to improve sleep quality.
DASH diet
  • The DASH diet is a dietary approach that initially was designed to reduce blood pressure.
  • Same as the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet is also rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and other low-fat products such as fish, poultry, and beans. Try to limit high saturated fat food such as fatty meat and tropical oil.
  • The DASH diet emphasizes choosing food that is high in protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, and magnesium while cutting down those high in saturated fats and sodium.
  • Following a DASH diet could help to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, nutrients that can be found in the DASH diet, such as vitamin B, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, are linked to brain function and mental well-being.
MIND diet
  • The MIND diet is the combination of Mediterranean diet and DASH diet, which also emphasizes the intake of natural plant-based foods and limits on animal and high-fat food.
  • However, leafy green vegetables and berries are exclusively focused.
  • Similar to the Mediterranean diet and DASH diet, the MIND diet could be helpful in reducing depression risk and psychological distress due to its high concentration of antioxidants.

Psychological stress and eating habits are closely related. It doesn’t matter which diet plan you want to choose, the key is to eat a healthy and balanced diet in appropriate portion sizes.

However, bear in mind that nutrition is just one factor among many that could impact mental health. Don’t just rely on changing your diet—you should seek advice from a mental health professional for personalized treatment for your mental issues.

Some Facts to Help You Understand Better What Dementia Is

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON


The World Health Organization reveals that about 10,000,000—that’s ten million—new cases of dementia are diagnosed every year.

In Malaysia, the Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation shares that 204,000 to 264,000 adults were diagnosed with dementia in 2020, and they expect the numbers to rise to between 637,500 and 825,000 by 2050.

DEMENTIA IS ACTUALLY A GENERAL TERM THAT COVERS CONDITIONS IN WHICH ONE EXPERIENCES SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Consultant geriatrician Dr Teh Hoon Lang explains that the decline should be significant enough to affect one’s thinking, memory, and social skills until it impedes their ability to carry out their usual day-to-day routines.

DEMENTIA IS A TERM THAT INCLUDE A NUMBER OF CONDITIONS INCLUDING
  • Alzheimer’s disease, the most common one
  • Frontotemporal dementia, a rare form that usually develops in people younger than 60
  • Lewy body dementia
  • Vascular dementia, caused by blood vessel damage that interrupts blood and oxygen flow to the brain
  • Mixed dementia, a combination of two or more types of dementia
THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT CAN INCREASE ONE’S RISK OF DEMENTIA

“These factors can be divided into modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors,” Dr Teh says.

Non-modifiable risk factors—things that we can’t change—include:

  • Advancing age
  • Being female
  • Certain types of dementia can be passed down from parent to child; however Dr Teh assures us that having a gene for one of these types of dementia is not a surefire guarantee that the person will develop that type of dementia

Meanwhile, modifiable risk factors include:

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • High blood pressure or hypertension
  • Obesity
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Smoking
  • Depression
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Sedentary lifestyle
  • Social isolation
  • Mid-life hearing impairment
  • Air pollution

“The more risk factors a person has, the higher their chances of getting dementia,” Dr Teh says.

TEN EARLY WARNINGS OF DEMENTIA TO WATCH OUT FOR
  • Memory loss
  • Difficulty performing familiar tasks
  • Problems with language
  • Disorientation to time and place
  • Poor or decreased judgement
  • Problems keeping track of things
  • Misplacing things
  • Changes in mood and behaviour
  • Challenges understanding visual and spatial information
  • Withdrawal from work or social activities
WHERE TO SEEK HELP IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR LOVED ONE MAY HAVE DEMENTIA

It is fine to consult a general practitioner or GP, who can refer your loved one to a specialist if necessary.

A geriatrician is a specialist that can help with dementia in older persons, and other types of specialists such as neuropsychologists and psychiatrists may also step in to help.

DEMENTIA CAN’T BE CURED, BUT IT CAN BE SLOWED DOWN

Dr Teh shares that there is no cure for dementia at the moment.

However, she assures us that there are many measures or strategies to slow down the progress of the disease and provide both the affected person and their caregivers a better quality of life.

“The most important part of dementia care is to get diagnosed early and get professional advice on the management plan,” says Dr Teh. “Every person with dementia is unique and the approach should be individualized. The basic principles of care include understanding the disease pattern and the struggles or difficulty they are facing, providing a supportive environment, maximizing their strength and minimizing their loss due to cognitive decline.”

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone & Here’s an Article About Rabbits

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON
PHOTO RAHIM SOFRI

UNDERSTANDING THE RABBIT
  • Rabbits are pack animals that have many predators, so they are conditioned to always be alert and wary. Therefore, when you adopt a pet rabbit, it may take a while for the rabbit to become familiar with its new home and to feel safe.
  • Wild rabbits live in warrens—underground homes interconnected by tunnels. Therefore, even tame rabbits have this urge to dig with their paws. Therefore, line your rabbit’s new home with something that it can dig on.
  • Rabbits answer the call of nature in the same spot as much as possible, so minimize the risk of predators tracking them down. Therefore, tame rabbits can be trained to do their business in the same place every day.
  • A rabbit’s tooth never stops growing throughout its life, and a wild rabbit keeps its teeth to manageable length by chewing down on rough parts of plants. Therefore, give your pet rabbit things that it can always chew on, so that its teeth won’t become overgrown.
  • A rabbit tells you that it is not happy with you by thumping its rear feet. It may also bite, although fortunately rabbits are usually not aggressive to humans.
YOUR RABBIT’S IDEAL HOME
  • Keep your rabbit in a well-ventilated cage—such cages are sold in pet shops. Avoid putting rabbits in closed “houses” or glass cases, as these often lack ventilation.
  • Rabbits may develop sore hocks, with its feet becoming raw and inflamed, when they spend too much time on wire flooring, so make sure that the wire flooring has a mesh size that is as small as possible (1 x 2.5 cm should be good).
  • Have a solid and smooth area for the rabbit to rest on, such a wood or Plexiglas surface, so that it can take a break from moving around on the wire flooring.
  • Grass hay makes good bedding for the rabbit, as it is comfy and also provides a nice snack for a hungry rabbit!
HEALTHY RABBIT MUNCHIES
  • A rabbit needs plenty of dietary fibre to keep its digestive system healthy. Unfortunately, most commercial-available pelleted diets sold in stores do not provide enough fibre for the needs of an older, non-breeding, and physically inactive house rabbit.
  • Usually, such rabbits will need to their pellets supplemented with grass hay, leafy green vegetables, and a small amount of treat foods (rolled oats, stale bread, fruits, etc). Therefore, discuss with a veterinarian (that’s an animal doctor) on how to best meet your rabbit family member’s nutritional needs.
  • Make sure that your rabbit always has clean and fresh water to drink. If you have an inverted sipper bottle for your rabbit, check often to make sure that the drinking or ‘straw’ part of the bottle is not blocked.
TRIPS TO THE VET
  • Ideally, have the vet examine your rabbit once a year to check for lice, parasites, and tooth problems as well as signs of diseases.
  • Pet rabbits can be neutered when they are 3 or 4 months old to keep them from being aggressive.
IF YOU NEED TO LIFT & CARRY THE RABBIT AROUND IN YOUR ARMS
  • Grasp your rabbit family member gently by the scruff of its neck to keep it docile.
  • Cup its hindquarters with your other hand to keep it from kicking you with its rear legs.
  • Then gently pick the rabbit up, keeping it in a vertical position.
  • Alternatively, once you have grasp the rabbit’s scruff gently, you can place its head under your other arm (be gentle, don’t squeeze!) and use that arm to support its hindquarters.

References:

  1. Jenkins J. R. (2001). Rabbit behavior. The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice, 4(3), 669–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30030-0
  2. Crowell-Davis S. (2021). Rabbit Behavior. The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice, 24(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvex.2020.09.002