From the darkness, into the light

123rf.com

THE pandemic may have brought situations that weighed on their mental health, but these brave individuals pulled themselves out of the darkness and into the light.

It was tough for Shana*, 33, but she gathered her strength to seek help when her moods became erratic and she started to experience hallucinations.

She was living alone for months during the lockdown in the United Kingdom, where she was pursuing her studies.

“I only got out of bed when I was hungry, but otherwise I couldn't function normally,” says Shana, who was previously diagnosed with depression in 2017.

Her moods fluctuated from being extremely animated to down and unhappy.

The sense of isolation in the lockdown also made it worse.

“It got to the point where I started experiencing auditory hallucinations (false perceptions of sound) and persecutory delusions (unable to recognise reality),” she says, adding that the movement control order (MCO) affected her too.

Upon her return to Malaysia this year, she courageously sought professional help again and was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.

Thankfully, after treatment, Shana, a communications executive, feels much better now and is able to function well on a daily basis.

Looking back, she admits she was hesitant to get help at first because she initially thought seeing a therapist meant “you're crazy or weak”, but this isn’t true.

“In the past, my experience had been invalidated and trivialised by some people.

“Fortunately, people are more aware and accepting of mental health issues now, including Gen Z and millennials,” she says.

Likening it to physical health, Shana stresses it is important to get treatment for our mental health if we need it.

“It's totally normal and acceptable to go to gyms or physiotherapy for our physical health.

“Let's make it just as normal to seek professional help for our mental health,” she adds.

While she believes psychological help should be more affordable for all, Shana believes mental health professionals should be fairly compensated for their service.

“Normalising seeking help for mental health is one way this form of healthcare can be more affordable and accessible to all,” she says.

Human resources (HR) manager Lee Chia*, 37, was diagnosed with depression a few years ago but this year, he felt his anxiety was “too big a strain.”

He reached out to a therapist, after getting insomnia and heart palpitations.

“Most of the anxiety involves my job performance and relationships with colleagues.

“Such feelings became much stronger during the pandemic,” he says, explaining that part of the challenge was dealing with colleagues virtually.

Usually, before the pandemic, he was able to sense the general mood of his colleagues either from observations or casual chats in person.

“But virtually, it is quite difficult and there were many times I was caught off guard.

“For example, I would suddenly realise a colleague is actually unhappy or has been complaining without me knowing,” Lee says.

As someone in HR, he had to deal with colleagues who were suffering due to being separated from their families overseas, especially foreign employees in his company.

“Because of the pressure and isolation, some threatened suicide. My colleagues and I were not equipped to handle cases like these.

“In the end, half of the team left or are leaving due to burnout,” he says.

He recalls having to defend his work daily, or having to repeatedly explain the latest situation again to others.

While he still has sleepless nights at times, Lee is soldiering on, and says his issues are more manageable now.

“I cope by doing things to distract myself and use positive self-talk to power through,” he shares.

Although Lee believes mental healthcare should be available to all, he feels stronger about people being educated instead.

“I hope people will be educated on the symptoms to look out for and they should be encouraged to seek help,” he says.

For quantity surveyor Gilbert*, 27, being away from his family during the MCO was the hardest emotional hurdle as they lived in another state.

“I found myself feeling upset over small things I normally didn’t think about, like not being able to eat my grandmother’s cooking,” he says.

While he is able to go on with his daily life, he says he does get anxious when he is outside, especially before getting his vaccine.

“Now that Malaysia will allow interstate travel soon, it does give me hope,” Gilbert says, adding that he copes by working out and playing online games.

*not their real names