Written by: Nurul Fatimah Sa’adah binti Hasnul

Online Forum titled “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” was the first programme that conducted online through Facebook Live platform and it was organized by Sekretariat Mahasiswa Fakulti Farmasi. This programme was held on 30 September 2020 from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. 

Mental health problem is expected to be the second highest form of health problem amongst Malaysians. A lot of people choose to fight this battle alone due to the social stigma towards mental health illness. Mental health awareness can provide helpful support for people who struggle with this problem.

This programme was held to raise awareness on the importance of mental health in society as well as  provide guidance  for those who are severely affected mentally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this programme, participant were given exposure on mental health issues and tips for the early intervention. They were given guidance regarding steps on how to overcome mental health problems and strategies to deal with stress, strengthen the social support and ways to practice a healthy lifestyle.

In this programme, we invited three panelist which included Associate Professor Dr Salmi Razali, Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Professor in Medicine (Psychiatry). The second panelist was Mohd Akif Farhan bin Ahmad Basri, Clinical Psychologist at Azlina Psychology Clinic and also Part-Time Lecturer at National University of Malaysia and the third panelist was Muhammad Faris Nazrin bin Khairun Nazir, Data Analyst at AS White Global @ Employers Mutual Limited and he is the former schizophrenia patient.