"I'm NOT Ok": The Importance of Mental Health Checkups

Its common for people to go for physical checkups where they are put to a few types of stress tests to see how healthy they are physically. Its also common for them to go for medical checkups where blood is drawn to see how healthy their internal organs are functioning. However, very rarely do we hear of someone going for mental health checkups. Why is that?

We often associate mental health with counselling or mental illness. And despite us living in 2020s, there still exists a sense of suspiciousness surrounding this aspect of our lives. This may be due to the fact that the brain is still seen as something of a huge mystery. I mean, even the psychiatrists who treat mental illness does not manhandle the brain unlike other specialists. Dentists examine teeth through direct contact. Same goes for heart surgeons, ENT and orthopaedics, to name a few.

Its a given that many suffer from trust issues and this may be due to many factors. Its all the more daunting to choose a counsellor who you would deem worthy enough for your trust just so you are able to work on issues and challenges which are very close to your heart. But what if you are not ready to trust someone with the skeletons in your closet and yet you are worrying about your mental wellbeing? 

Counselling is an hour long for each session and it involves you discussing difficult topics that are troubling you and your loved ones. However, mental health checkups is just 30 minutes in length and theres no need for you to trust the mental health service provider. Its no different from you going to a general practitioner doctor in your residential area when you are feeling sickly.

According to the WHO, mental health is a state wherein a person understands their potential and has the ability to deal with regular stressors in life. Additionally, the person who has the ability to work in a productive manner and can make a meaningful contribution to his community.

So, if you are wondering why is mental health important, you now know that you need to be mentally healthy to achieve your potential and be productive in the society you live and work in. Without sound mental health, you will find it extra challenging to cope with daily life stresses and this will ultimately affect your ability to remain productive.

If you display any of these five signs, its time for you to seriously consider coming in for a mental health checkup:

Grumpiness: 
If you notice that from a pleasant and happy person, you have turned into snarky person who gets angry over the smallest of things, it is a sign of emotional or mental chaos.

Sleeplessness:
Most people do not get adequate sleep because of demanding work and lifestyle. If you find you are unable to sleep at night, get a doctor to make sure its not a medical condition. If it isn't, then do submit yourself to a mental health checkup where you may figure out the reasons for your sleep disorder.

Avoiding People:
One of the first signs of depression is shunning people. You stop interacting with people and avoid physical and digital contact with them.

Binge Eating:
Long-term stress causes an increase in a hormone called cortisol and this affects your appetite, causing you to eat more. This means you will be craving for high fat and high sugar food which is associated with emotional eating.

Inability to Relax:
Are you always wound up and have a constantly active mind? This is a sign of anxiety, which is often overlooked because it is constantly present. You can live with anxiety for years without realising you are having a mental issue.

Mental health issues can wreak havoc with your life and turn it upside down. Don't let this happen. Instead, get an annual mental checkup done to catch any problem early, before it blows up and turns serious.

Contact MY Confidential at +60172979158 to book an appointment.

Association of Private Counselors (MY Confidential)

In March 2014, Malaysia's MH370 went missing. And that was when I received my true calling. Doctors tend to be at their best when their patients are at their worst. Same goes for counselors. The irony of the pinnacle of my career happening at Malaysia's worst. Malaysia was unprepared for this. Caregivers were not trained for a commercial carrier to vanish into thin air.

MH370. Everly Hotel Emergency Operations Center. 2014.

A few months later, MH17 was shot down. Still reeling with dwindling hope of ever finding our missing aeroplane, I volunteered my time and expertise again. Again, I was at my best. Although caregivers had some experience in dealing with MH370's next of kins, most of the passengers were foreigners and therefore the green zone was in all the countries affected by the event.

These two extraordinary mishaps had shaped and formed me as a counselor. I saw what was lacking and what needed to get done. And I was no longer the same. That is what is often said for those who had survived a storm.

Fast forward to 2019. In the past 5 years, I had expanded my expertise from mere counseling to teaching and to training. Teaching future counselors. Training them to be caregivers. Caregivers. Often, this term is associated with palliative care. But without caregivers, the next of kins of both airplanes would have not had anyone to tend to their sorrow and grief. The caregivers provided support to those who needed them most.

Apart from the caregivers, the first responders such as rescuers were also the unsung heroes. The public only complained and criticised about shortcomings of any missions but little do they realize how important the rescuers are to our wellbeing as a whole. Hence, I begun my most important mission of all: to give care and support to the rescuers.

More often than not, they return from traumatizing missions with no one to tend to their PTSD. Many scored very highly on the PTSD Checklist. Yet, they remain silent for fear of losing their jobs. While the mental health of our common people should be prioritized, we should also have someone championing the mental health of our first responders and rescuers.

MY Confidential (Association of Private Counselors) was established as an NGO on February 22nd, 2019. Our mission is to provide psychological support to our frontliners. We aim to have our members and volunteers to be trained as caregivers as well as being a support system to those whose jobs are to save lives.

Our members consist of registered and licensed counselors in private practice, counseling interns, counseling students, and those who are trained in Crisis Intervention, First Aid and CPR. Our members have attended extensive Air Emergency Exercises organized by Malaysia Airports.

AEREX. KLIA. 2018

AEREX. KLIA. 2018

Members learning First Aid and CPR

We welcome all registered and licensed private counselors to join our squad. We welcome volunteers who are creative in raising funds for our cause. We welcome financial support and funding from individuals and corporations who share our vision for making mental health affordable to everyone. 

For further details, do contact our President Ms Johana Dato' Johari at 018-9136688 or email at johana.myconfidential@gmail.com

Join us in our noble humanitarian mission and may we all be blessed with purposeful lives. Ameen.