Sunny Side Up: Mental health issues are a real thing

Over 4.5 million working adults in Malaysia reported mental health issues in 2018, and it’s been estimated that one in three people in Malaysia will experience similar issues at some point in their lives. — Photos: 123rf.com

With increasing work-related mental health issues cropping up in Malaysia, it was no surprise to read in The Star last month that the growing problem has cost the national economy approximately RM14.6bil (“Mental health hurts economy badly”, Feb 18).

The findings, from a study conducted by Relate Mental Health Malaysia, were revealed at “The Business Costs of Mental Health” forum in Kuala Lumpur in February. Relate founder Dr Chua Sook Ning also addressed the problems of organisations being unaware of how to deal with employees’ mental health issues.