The issue of depression is not something that can be taken lightly. This is because, depression can lead to tragedies such as suicide, divorce and so on. Statistics shows that the rate of depression among Malaysian is increasing day by day. Stress is a major factor in this problem which can lead to the occurrence of deterioration in life. Stress can affect an individual’s level of health. Besides, it leads to a variety of more complex emotional and physical problems. Nearly half a million people in the country suffer from depression based on National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) statistics conducted in 2019. Globally, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all sectors especially the tourism sector. Businesses and the private industry sector are also facing the effects of the outbreak.
The closure of various premises and factories has resulted in a large number of job losses as well as contributing to the rising unemployment rate in the country. Issues like this if not addressed properly and appropriately will cause long -term effects that can affect a person’s job, daily life, family and even a person’s level of health. For example, when a person is overly stressed, he or she tends to suffer from depression. This will affect the individuals around and will caused to mental health problems. Did you know, mental illness is expected to be the second most serious health problem after heart disease for Malaysians this year? This feeling of depression is not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic but things that are common in daily life for example, worrying about something that has not happened, losing a job, having no control in life situations, having heavy responsibilities and work stress.
According to study, depression rates are much higher among women than men. These significant gender differences suggest that women have unequal power and status that can increase negative feelings and lack of self -esteem. Born as a woman is not easy to think about. Women tend to handle two jobs at a time such as job of being a housewife and also earning a living. By managing household affairs and the job itself can increase emotional stress and sometimes, they are easily getting annoyed over small things. Women tend to feel depressed due to the amount of less sleep and this will be able to suppress their appetite. As a result, they release the feeling by increasing their intake of foods such as fast and unhealthy foods. In fact, they will also sleep for a period that exceeds the time limit thus causing excessive weight gain.