| |
Changi General Hospital strengthened its psychological medicine
team with the appointment of Senior Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Tay
Woo Kheng as Head . Her team comprises four specialists in the areas
of geriatric psychiatry, workplace mental health, trauma psychiatry,
psychological disorders and general hospital psychiatry.
To commemorate World Mental Health Week in
October, Changi General Hospital's Psychological Medicine Service
presented a workplace health seminar, "Crazy About Work'' on 10
October 2001 at the hospital's training centre. This year's theme
is "Mental Health & Work".
|
|
|
What is good mental health? Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Francis Ngui
who specialises in geriatric and general hospital psychiatry, spoke
on the topic of good mental and physical health. According to Dr
Ngui, "A mentally healthy person is one who is comfortable with
himself or herself, comfortable with others and able to meet the
demands of life - including being productive at work."
Just as the sources of stress are diverse, individuals
have different levels of stress tolerance arising from different
expectations, ambitions, strengths, weaknesses and reactions to
adversity.
|
| |
Associate Consultant Dr Angelina Chan, whose special interest is
trauma psychiatry, covered the causes of stress at work. According
to Dr Chan, "Job stress arise from the work roles, work environment,
career concerns, management style and interpersonal conflicts at
the workplace".
Job conditions may lead to stress. For example
an unpleasant or dangerous work environment is stressful. The lack
of opportunity for growth or promotion and changes at the work place
are other stressors at work.
Job satisfaction, occupational self-esteem, supervisory
quality, social support and personality help moderate the stressors.
"Stress at the workplace can be reduced through stress management
programmes and if necessary, organisational change", says Dr Chan.
|
|
|
Stress management programmes help to identify the nature and sources
of stress. They help workers to understand the effects of stress
on health and impart skills to reduce stress. Individual counselling
and peer support programmes at the workplace may also be beneficial.
The organisation can also help their employees
by reducing ambiguities in their roles, improve communication and
provide a family-friendly environment.
Senior Consultant Dr Ng Li Ling approached workplace
stress from a lifestyle perspective. In the same way we make lifestyle
choices like abstaining from alcohol, exercising regularly and eating
healthy, we can reduce stress by choosing a conducive lifestyle.
According to Dr Ng, whose specialty is geriatric mental health,
"Being organised, setting aside time for relaxation, building strong
family relationships and having clear priorities and direction in
life are all essential building blocks to good mental health".
|
| |
Dr Tay Woo Kheng, who specialises in general hospital psychiatry and
practises cognitive behavioral therapy spoke about managing stress.
"To feel good", she says, "one must start with thinking positively
as one tends to feel the way one thinks'. Dr Tay warned that negative
self talk and thoughts will increase one's stress levels, sometimes,
unnecessarily. As Abraham Lincoln once concluded, "Most folks are
about as happy as they make up their minds to be." This may be the
key to achieving good mental health. |
|
|
10 Common Symptoms
- Tense muscles (Sore neck, shoulder and
back)
- Insomnia
- Heart palpitations
- Fatigue
- Boredom
- Drinking too much
- Eating too much
- Diarrhoea, cramps, gas
- Restlessness
- Worry
|
| |
Mental illness is a form of intellectual disability or brain damage
No. "Mental illness" is a general term that refers
to a group of illnesses. They are like any other diseases such as
heart disease, diabetes and asthma. Mental illnesses are caused
by a physical dysfunction in the brain.
Mental illness is incurable and lifelong
No. When treated appropriately, people recover
fully. It requires on-going treatment similar to medical conditions
like diabetes and heart diseases.
|
