Stop Blaming the Individual: The Real Core Issues Driving Mental Health Crises
It's time we talk about a dangerous, convenient myth: the idea that mental health crises, violence, or self-harm are simply the fault of the individual—because they played too many video games, they "bottled up" their emotions, or they failed to have better communication with their parents.
As an activist, and someone who navigates the mental health system in Malaysia, I see this narrative repeated in the media constantly. It’s an easy headline, but it's a profound injustice. It gives the rest of society, especially those in power, an easy way out.
The truth is, the problem isn't the person; it’s the poisoned water they’re swimming in.
The Gadget and The Ghost of Blame
I recently read a quote suggesting that young people get stressed and "overthinking" because they spend too long on their gadgets, shut in their rooms.
Let's flip this narrative. When a person isolates themselves with a screen, they aren't becoming stressed because of the gadget. They're seeking refuge from a world that has become unbearable.
The gadget, or the camomile tea, or the hard rock music, or the violent game—these are often just maladaptive coping mechanisms. They are symptoms of a deeper injury. Blaming the tool is like blaming a crutch when the leg was broken by the system.
The real questions are:
- Why is a quiet room safer than the dinner table?
- Why do they feel the need to escape reality?
The answers aren't simple, but they always point back to what I call the Core External Failures.
The Core External Failures We Must Address
Our society loves to talk about "personal responsibility" while ignoring the profound, chronic stresses inflicted by the system. We must challenge the narratives that focus on individual revenge or lack of communication and instead confront the structural violence that creates these desperate emotional states.
Here are the real contributing factors—the elephants in the room—based on my lived experience and observations:
1. The Weaponisation of Shame
We live in a culture that shames failure. Divorce is branded a "life failure." Poverty is treated as a moral failing—a curse—for which the person is solely responsible, while the structural exploitation enabled by riba and financial systems is ignored. When shame is weaponised by society, it becomes a crushing internal weight that eventually manifests as rage, self-harm, or severe anxiety. You don't fail to vent by choice; you seal the trauma because every time you try to open up, you get judged, exposed, or betrayed.
2. Normalised Discrimination and Erasure
In our nation, there is a constant, subtle violence in the normalised discrimination. When the official political narrative promotes only a select few ethnic groups, it marginalises everyone else. It tells people from diverse communities, like the many Sabah and Sarawak ethnicities, that their identity is less valid. This identity stress is not just an inconvenience; it is a chronic psychological injury that contributes to distress. Supremacist politics that enforce conformity, often using manufactured religious laws, serve the ego of power, not the compassion and mercy of faith.
3. The Lack of Humane, Accessible Care
This is my most painful point. When a person finally seeks help, the system often fails them spectacularly.
In my home in Kota Marudu, Sabah, quality psychiatric care is over 100 km away in Kota Kinabalu. That three-hour journey is a massive barrier. And when we get there, we face:
- Dismissal: Concerns being laughed off or treated as trivial.
- Systemic Laziness: Professionals who refuse to use basic modern communication like email, hiding behind the "universal healthcare" blanket while providing inhuman service.
We need to stop dividing people into classes: the "elite" professionals who collect their monthly salaries without compassion, and the patients who are expected to trust blindly.
Demanding Justice in Infrastructure
We need to stop asking, "Why didn't they talk about it?" and start demanding, "Why isn't there a safe, competent, and compassionate system for them to talk to?"
My activism isn't about blaming the rich, the politician, or the gadget. It’s about demanding that the system—the one that uses the shame of poverty, the stress of competition, and the pain of marginalisation—be held accountable.
We need to invest in decentralised mental healthcare institutions and excellence centres that are:
- Proximate: Available in every major town, not just the capital cities.
- Trauma-Informed: Where professionals treat patient concerns with respect and ethical rigour, understanding that betrayal exacerbates mental illness.
- Holistic: Recognising that mental health is a product of biological, psychological, and social justice factors.
Justice is for everyone. Until the external environment stops making people feel like their existence is a failure, we will continue to see tragic, "out-of-control" actions. The fault lies not in our souls, but in the oppressive structures we allow to stand.
