Teenagers and youths are now facing hard challenges that are unheard of in the past. These challenges - stress, anxiety and depression - are often associated with issues faced by adults. But now, more and more younger people are feeling depressed and have entertained the thought of attempting suicide.

To better understand the cause and to lay open discussions behind these alarming statistics, KiniEvents, Malaysiakini and Quantum Intelligence have jointly organised The Mind Matters Rally at Brickfields Asia College, PJ Campus, on Saturday, 2 November 2024. The rally saw mental health professionals, NGOs and various other stakeholders deliberate on mental health as well as tips to develop mental resilience.

The takeaway from the discourse throughout the event is that with the right type of support system and intervention, together with the right education aiming to foster mental resilience, there is still a chance to reverse this disturbing trend of teenage depression and suicidal ideation.

The rally was officiated by YB Anfaal Saari, the Selangor State EXCO For Women Development and Social Welfare and featured two panel discussions and four sharing sessions by our sponsors and co-partners, where participants can learn more about mental health through interactive activities.

“As the State Exco for Women Development and Social Welfare, our main focus is to foster a healthy ecosystem for families to live happily together. We used to understand that as a community, we should come together in support of each other in times of need. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. However, urbanisation and modernisation has inadvertently fostered individualism and social isolation. Each nuclear family lives on their own, minding their own business, making them feel alone and without support in facing a multitude of problems and challenges in this world. That is why we created platforms for the community to come together, like the Pusat Wanita Berdaya where the womenfolk come together and do fun activities while also providing a platform for them to learn skills for them to generate income. For the elderly, we also have the Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas, which provides a platform for our seniors to socialise,”

“We also have programmes addressing mental health issues, such as Minda Sihat Selangor which provides mental health workshops and mental resilience for students and teachers to empower them with skills, to manage stress and anxiety. We each have a role to play in creating an environment where those facing mental health challenges feel safe, supported and empowered to seek help, it is only through collaboration and shared responsibility that we can build a society that is both compassionate and resilient. We must break the barriers of discrimination that prevents individuals from opening up. Mental health is not a weakness, it’s a journey that deserves support and respect,” said Anfaal in her opening speech.

Panel Session 1: “1 in 5 Teens Experience Depression: Find Out what Parents Don’t Know!” was moderated by Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) Director Cheong Sue Jen. The panellists were Prof Madya Dr Ooi Pei Boon, Member of Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia (LKM), Dr Jest Wong, Managing Director of Westwood Clinic, and Sven Maikranz, Founder and CEO of Upstrive.

The panellists discussed that families and schools play a significant role in spotting the signs of depression among teenagers, and with timely intervention, can prevent teenagers from developing serious symptoms of depression. They also deliberated on the silent epidemic which is teen depression, its hidden nature and also strategies for parents to foster emotional connection with their teens.

The panel concurred that schools - especially teachers - and communities also play a role in detecting and addressing teen depression. They also concluded that the teens themselves have agency to speak up on ways to be supported, and ultimately, get professional help if there is need for that.

Panel Session 2: “4,500 Too Many: Can We Break the Bullying Cycle?” was moderated by Michael Reyes, CEO and Founder of MoneyTree Asia Pacific & Quantum Intelligence. The panellists were Khairiah Abdul Malik, Deputy President, All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Joanne Ng, Founder and CEO of The Pillars Psychological Services, Dr Kartini Abdul Jabar, Outreach Director, Befrienders, and Ivy Josiah, Head of Programme (Psychology) and Lecturer of School of Education & Social Sciences, Veritas University College.

The panel delved deep into understanding the root causes of bullying among youth, and the impact of bullying on mental health. They agreed that bullying can cause anxiety, and depression and pose a risk of suicide. The panel also deliberated on the role of schools in preventing and addressing bullying cases head-on, insisting that schools must work hand in hand with the police to curb bullying.

The panel also noted that bullies are often people who are also undergoing some form of abuse or trauma of their own, and called for bullies to be held accountable by having restorative justice and having sessions with the bullies for character development purposes. The panel also agreed that it helps to create a culture of kindness and empathy by building supportive communities.

In between and after the panel discussions, comes sharing sessions featuring speakers of various organisations related to mental health.

The first sharing session comes from Thomson Health pharmacist Benjamin Lim giving a presentation about how gut health can affect our gut-brain axis and mental health. He stated that it is important to maintain healthy gut health to upkeep our mental health. He also shared about the role of supplements in mental health.

The second sharing session is where Quantum Intelligence Founder and CEO Michael Reyes and Upstrive Founder and CEO Sven Maikranz shared about how their sessions and apps could build mental resilience for the children and the youth, which includes financial education, accelerated learning and mental conditioning to nurture a future-ready youth. They also shared that their sessions and apps provide timely feedback for the assessment to their parents of their children’s progress.

“Your biggest enemy right now is uncertainty. You do not know what your kids will go through. Your kids are breaking down in front of your eyes and you don’t know what to do. You have no means to react until the aftermath of their problem takes place. And that is why we want our children and young people to be even more resilient than ever through mental conditioning. If I can get every child to cross that uncertainty, it will give them confidence. We can give them the knowledge of the space and time and the activities to put it into practice so that they become skilled, at not just financial education, but also accelerated learning and become independent decision-makers,” said Reyes.

The third sharing session was by The Pillars Psychological Services’ life coach Arielle Yong. She shared the basic tenets of what mental health is and gave the audience a checklist to identify what mental health traits to look out for, as well as bust myths that are related to mental health. She also conducted engaging sessions with the audience about their activities for the day and how to detect early signs and symptoms of a mental crisis.

The final session was conducted by the BAC Education Group Student Counsellors. They did an interactive session on mindfulness and shared experiences about mental health awareness with positive words of affirmation. They also urged the audience to keep the conversation regarding mental health going, as it is not often talked about enough.

The organisers would like to thank all sponsors and speakers for attending this event. We would also like to thank our partners and co-partners - Quantum Intelligence, BAC Education Group, Westwood Clinic, Thomson Health, Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA), All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Befrienders, Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (MIASA) and The Pillars Psychological Services for their participation in this event. 

Your Mental Health Matters!

Are our kids ready for the future? Take the survey and share it with us: https://mk.my/QISurvey