Heartbroken when the story of a popular TikTok account owner Shashikala committed suicide after receiving a barrage of negative comments on her account, which has more than 30,000 thousand followers.

She is said to have been cyberbullied by other TikTok users. Shashikala Nadarajah who is 44 years old is the mother of three daughters who are still in school.

A few days before her death, she uploaded a final video about starting homeschooling for her three daughters using the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) syllabus.

On TikTok, Shashikala regularly shares her views on various topics such as homeschooling, sexual harassment, and how to maintain a luxury handbag. In the incident, a few TikTok users blamed her for being sexually harassed in the comments section of the posted video.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers suicide a public health issue and it can be prevented through proper intervention. The World Mental Health Day theme of Suicide Prevention was chosen as an indication of the level of mental health of the population of a country.

In the 3rd National Health Morbidity Study conducted in 2006, the level of mental health among adults in Malaysia aged 16 and above. This is based on the “General Health Questionnaire” containing 28 items that are used around the world to screen a person’s psychological well-being. One of the results of the study found that the overall prevalence of acute suicidal thoughts was 6.4%, with the highest rate among teenagers and early adults aged between 16-24 years which is 11%. In addition, in terms of gender, more women suffer from mental problems as much as 55% compared to men only 45%.

Among the mental health issues detected include emotional and behavioral problems including acute stress disorders, depression, anxiety, burnout, and suicidal behavior.

According to the Psychiatrist of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Dr. Rozanizam Zakaria who is also the Ambassador of Yayasan Ikhlas, 1/3 of Malaysians have problems related to mental health. He explained, that it is worse when 70% of those who experience it do not get proper treatment. Dr. Rozanizam said that mental illness can be treated with methods such as therapy and medication.

“Most of the issue is that they have a mental illness and cannot get treatment, if they get treatment, the issue of mental illness that is violent and so on will not arise. The issue now is when the patient cannot get treatment, the family does not take them and just leave them at home, this is our challenge in this field,” he said at the Opening Ceremony of the Terengganu State Level Health Psychology Seminar recently.

We at Yayasan Ikhlas are always committed and concerned about mental health issues and support all the efforts and actions of the government and psychiatrists to help these patients receive treatment to restore their mental health and be able to live a more harmonious life with their beloved family.

If you feel depressed, suicidal, or know someone in this situation, please contact the following hotline:

Talian Kasih
Hotline: 15999

The Befrienders
Hotline: 03-7627 2929

Agape Counseling Center Malaysia
Hotline: 03-7785 5955 or 03-7781 0800

Life Line Association Malaysia
Hotline: 03-4265 7995

The Ministry of Health and Mercy Malaysia has also set up a psycho-social support line for frontline workers and others who are emotionally affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The line can be reached at 014-322 3392, 011-639 96482, 011-6399 4236 or 03-2935 9935, from 8am to 5pm.