The HEALTH : June 2018 | Page 11

She said that the problem with anorexia tends to happen to teen girls, however, nowadays more teenage boys have this disorder.

“ There is a tendency to have a body image disturbance where they might not feel that they’ re thin enough. It is a type of mental disorder.”

“ Anorexia bullosa doesn’ t mean that they don’ t have the appetite. They actually have a lot of appetite but they suppress it. This can be seen by picking on their food and calorie counting.”

On the other hand, Bulimia Nervosa is characterised by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviours such as self-induced vomiting, exerting diuretics and laxatives to undo the effects of binge eating. This, she pointed out, is a matter of control or autonomy of self.

adults, we suppose to have autonomy, but we don’ t. We have bosses, religious and political leaders who dictate how we should live and what we should do— which is a big challenge for young people in addition to environmental, physical, social and psychological issues.”

“ Social is about relationships.

School, School of Medicine Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Associate Professor Dr Xavier Vincent Pereira explained thatanxiety and depressive disorders are common mental disorders in Malaysia. These includes posttraumatic stress disorder such as tortured, raped, sex and gender based violence. Children also have common disorders like that.

Some have intellectual disability, ADHD, some with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. These are all disorders in childhood which might be prevalent. But anxiety and depression comes on as the child as one reflects back on the past – phobias.

Phobias can start at a young age. It is either specific phobia or social phobia which causes anxiety.

• The prevalence of depression among males( 18.9 %)

• Anxiety was found to be the most common mental health problem among Malaysian

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Relationships in the family contribute to happiness in children while the negative ones contribute to ill health. We have heard about child abuse— sexual and physical, in addition to that there is neglect.”

“ Neglect can contribute with a person growing up with certain difficulties,” he added.

MANY of us go through different phases of grief, but does that mean that you’ re depressed?

Universiti Putra Malaysia Faculty of Medicine & Allied Health Sciences senior lecturer Dr Michael Ang Jin Kiat clarified that grief due to losing a loved one or broken relationships is not the same as depression.

“ You can feel sad no doubt. Sadness is a common human reaction. But, we do not say that just because you are sad you have depression. That is not true. When the person has depression, they must fulfil certain criteria’ s,” he said.

adolescents, followed by depression and stress. Mental health prevention strategies should be focused on adolescents and their parents in order to reduce mental health problems in Malaysia.

SEXUAL disorders centres around sexual arousal disorders, sexual dysfunction, fetish- as in like interest in non-stereo type of sexual play and using other things to attain sexual pleasure, paraphilia and exhibitionism as in those who expose their genitalia.

“ Sexual disorders for couples as a whole can be the loss of libido and loss of drive, so there are problems with sexual problems and sexual arousal,” explained Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Bharathi S. Vengadasalam.

“ Then you have problems with sexual satisfaction, where you can’ t achieve an orgasm.”

“ A female might also experience vaginismus where it’ s hard to allow penetration, because there is a lot of fear and anxiety on the sexual act.”

For males, apart from impotence, she said that they can also experience erectile dysfunction which may be caused by psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.

Self-help methods when you have mild to moderate symptoms

1. Manage your stress well.

2. Keep your relationships healthy and have a good social support network.

3. Physical exercise is very important.

4. Don’ t have sleepless nights. Have adequate rest.

5. Do not use illegal substances that can affect the brains and result in psychosis, depression and anxiety. 6. Develop your spirituality. 7. Take care of self. 8. Count your blessings which helps develop positive thoughts. 9. Do relaxation exercises. 10. Be mindful by bringing awareness to the sensations and feelings in the body. This will help to live in the moment and less“ in our heads”.

11. Do Tai Chi.

Myth: Mental health problems are rare Fact: As many as one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorder at some point in their lives.

Myth: Depression will usually resolve spontaneously in two three months. Fact: Depression is persistent and may take up to two years for spontaneous recovery.

Myth: Once you feel better, you can stop taking psychiatric medications. Fact: Almost all patients with psychiatric illness benefit from ongoing treatment for a period of time and sometimes for the rest of their lives to prevent relapses and recurrences just like diabetes and heart disease patients.

Myth: Psychiatric illness is a result of bad relationships. Fact: All psychiatric illnesses have a genetic component and an environmental component, bad relationships being only one of several possible causes.

Myth: Treatment for psychiatric illness is a cop-out for weak people. Fact: Treatment is necessary for psychiatric illnesses like it is for other medical illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

Myth: People with psychiatric illness have a weak character or inadequate coping skills. Fact: Psychiatric illnesses are medical illnesses with biological, environmental and psychosocial causes like all other illnesses.

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Myth: Mental disorders only affect adults. Fact: About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14.

Myth: Mental illness in children is caused by bad parenting Fact: Like adults, mental illness in children may be due to biological, environmental and psychosocial factors.

Myth: Mental disorders have no effect on physical health Fact: Mental disorders increase the risk of getting ill from other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and others.

Myth: Depression and other psychiatric disorders will just go away with time Fact: Psychiatric disorder will likely persist if left untreated and can affect health outcomes.

Courtesy of Global Medical Association