Sukan Rakyat By MIASA; Stop Stigmatising Mental Illness

Picture Source - MIASA

Hi Steemians,

It's been awhile. This week, my schedules were full of reviewing some of the Javascript codes to create a Sudoku, studying for tests and preparing to join a program conducted by MIASA (Mental Illness And Support Association). This program adopted a family day's concept which is being held at Taman Rimba Kiara, located at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (About 19 km from Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia). Some of the participants in this program are mental illness patients who came from a different background.

Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours.

Source - Mayoclinic

Over the years, stigma towards mental illness patient grow, but for some part, people have been made aware that the story which is conveyed through the media about the general behaviour of people having this kind disorder were not true. If we want to use the level of aggressiveness as a critical comparison, from the total number of people being aggressive, mental illness patient ( or any people who have mental illness as a medical background) constitutes only 4% overall. That's a relatively small figure compared to the exaggeration made by media making it difficult for any of the mental illness patients to function in the society.

Setting up a clinical booth for the program

Look how happy we are working on Sunday morning

There are many movements made by non-governmental organisations to instil awareness among the general public regarding the importance of supporting people with mental health issues to create a better community. People who have this illness is just like you and me. They might have some problems with managing their lives as a whole, financial and managing some of their issues; the only things that differentiate between us is how well we cope with the pressure at hand.

Throughout the program, we've been enjoying ourselves socialising with some of the participants who came from different parts of Kuala Lumpur to support the cause stopping any stigmatising act on mental health population. The program was filled with some of the fun activities which include:

• Carrying ping-pong ball in a spoon
• Finding candies hidden in flour
• Running in a sack
• Giant sandals etc.

Briefing before starting the "Finding candies hidden in flour" activity

Blow that flour

Stacking some tins

It was fun, observing people playing happily, forgetting some of their problems for awhile and immersing themselves in an awesome experience. The truth is, every single one of us is a potential mental health patient. We have been dealing with a lot of stresses on a daily basis which could predispose us to some of the mental health issues which could affect our social function. Depression has been one of the most underrated mental health diagnosis, and people always ignored the fact that they need professional help to manage their stresses to avoid it from becoming worst. What's worst could happen you ask? Death. Yes, being suicidal is the ultimate complication of depression.

If you need help, please go to any nearby hospital to sort it out. Don't be ashamed and don't be scared. People who seek help are not weak, they just smarter than those who don't. They appreciate their lives more than those who don't. Be smart and get treated if you are one of the people who have a mental illness but is reluctant to seek for professional health; on a long-term, it would be worth it.

All of the people who involved in this program

Volunteers from PPUKM