Don’t Suffer Alone, Seek Help

About 280 participants gathered at Taipan, USJ10 last month to take part in a treasure hunt while creating awareness on depression and mental illness.

Walk-A-Hunt which was jointly organised by the office of ADUN Subang Jaya, JKP Zone 3 and SJ Care Warriors saw participants grouped into teams of 2 and having to answer questions related to mental health issues, in order to gain points for the treasure hunt.

ADUN Subang Jaya Michelle Ng who launched the event said the aim of the treasure hunt was to educate the public about mental health issues and informed them that it is possible to overcome mental illnesses.

She called upon the public to seek help, if they are suffering mentally, and never shoulder their burdens alone.

Michelle said there were a number of exhibitions at the event which included a Stress Level test, which assesses one’s emotions and experiences when they felt pressured; another demonstrated deep breathing exercises for stressful situations, to the residents.

She added that there was a Stress ball stall, which helped to relieve stress and is one of the ways to control emotions.

She said some of the treasure hunt’s questionnaire topics were related to mental health issues, and had the help of a psychiatrist in drafting it.

She said that the organisers had directed the proceeds of the event to 7 beneficiaries, namely Befrienders KL, Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA), Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (MIASA), RELATE Malaysia, Pertubuhan Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti (PDK) Cahaya Kasih Subang Jaya, which is under the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM), Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) and Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology (MSCP), with each receiving RM1000, respectively.

She said that mental health cases registered by her office will be directed to the agencies mentioned above. They were also informed that many of the cases received by the agencies came from Subang Jaya.