Women more prone to stress

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: More women than men have mental breakdowns due to stress, according to mental health experts.
A psychiatric consultant here, Prof Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil said 60% of his patients who suffer from depression and anxiety resulting from work and life stresses were women.
“Few companies have nurseries and the women have to go elsewhere to send their babies. Sometimes they get to work late and their bosses are not understanding,” he said.
Dr Mohamad Hussain sees over 100 patients a week for various mental health problems, about 10% of whom have stress problems.
He added that when these women approach their husbands for help, the men would say their mothers never told their fathers to take care of the children, wash clothes or cook.
Those with maids or living with their in-laws had different challenges, he said.
“By the time they come to see me, some are suicidal and can't sleep at night,” he added.
“Companies have to take note of women employees’ needs. Good nurseries are still lacking in both the public and private sector,” he noted.
“The cost and benefit of an organisation supporting these structures outweighs the loss from stress. Companies, too, do not want to lose good workers,” he said.
He said work stress among his patients could be traced to interpersonal relationships problems, inability to cope with technological changes, safety and noise levels and poor time management. If unresolved, it could affect productivity or cause accidents.
Hospital Permai director Dr Benjamin Chan said that the degree of vulnerability towards stress depended on a person’s make-up and how they had learned to cope with stress.
“Women in our culture tend to go into depression and seek psychiatric help, while men tend to turn to substance or physical abuse,” he said.
Around15% to 20% of the hospital’s outpatient psychiatric cases were related to depression and anxiety resulting from stress,” said another psychiatrist from the hospital, Dr Chin Loi Fei.
Recently, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye called for the introduction of guidelines on promoting mental healthcare in workplaces in view of the competitive and stressful work environment and increasing suicide attempts among workers.