There is a huge stigma associated with employee mental health, but companies are starting to address this pressing issue, with Bharati (standing) receiving steady requests for mental health training. — BHARATI SURESH CHAND
As a community pharmacist, part of Bharati Suresh Chand’s job is to prepare, dispense and monitor medications for customers.
Over time, regular customers would become friends and she’d lend them a listening ear when they shared their personal stories.
As the Penangite’s pharmacy was then located in the island’s Free Trade Zone Area, the majority of her customers comprised those who worked in nearby factories.
“I’ve known some of them for 10-15 years and noticed that as they climbed the corporate ladder, they started having health issues such as diabetes, breathing difficulties, hypertension, heart blocks, etc.
“This was despite consulting doctors and taking supplements.
“I asked myself what was happening – aren’t you supposed to be healthier and have a better quality of life when you earn better?
“Something was not right and I wanted to prove to them that stress was the culprit.
“So whenever they came in to do a blood test and complain of niggling health issues, I’d add on a cortisol test,” says Bharati in a recent interview in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
A cortisol test is a blood test that measures the level of cortisol, a hormone that regulates the body’s response to stress.
True to her observations, results showed that everyone who was experiencing a health decline had a rise in cortisol levels.
She says: “I started researching more on stress and cortisol, and with that, my interest in mental well-being grew.
“I counselled them on striking a work-life balance, and if they couldn’t, they should consider quitting their jobs to reverse their disease.
“Years later, some of them did quit their jobs and returned to tell me they were much healthier.”
Bharati herself was undergoing tremendous stress as a young mother of two at that time.
She originally owned the pharmacy her chemist dad had set up right after she graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
“My kids would come to the pharmacy daily, and everyday, my husband would wait for me until after 9pm to have dinner.
“The staff helped me babysit, and I even remember breastfeeding my babies while attending to customers,” she says, laughing.
Her dedication and contributions to the field were duly recognised when she was awarded Malaysia’s Best Community Pharmacist in 2009.
When a good offer came to sell the business to a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, Bharati accepted it.
However, she was retained as an employee, managing the pharmacy section.
On the plus side, her working hours reduced and she could end her day at 6pm, enabling her to spend more time with the family.
Life’s blows
Alas, after four years in this role, the government announced the closure of all pharmacies run by MLM entities.
Despite embracing mental health training, Bharati hasn't forgotten her expertise in pharmacy and is now in the specialised field of pharmaceutical compounding, i.e. producing personalised medications for patients.
Bharati lost her job in 2016.
Added to that, her husband had quit his job just six months prior to look after his mother who was diagnosed with fourth stage cervical cancer.
“My husband was the only child and we made the decision that he should be the one taking care of his mother.
“I told him, ‘Don’t worry, I’m earning, so we can still survive.’
“Now both of us were out of jobs, we had two kids to support, and my husband was travelling weekly from Penang to Ampang Hospital, Selangor, for his mother’s treatment.
“It was three years of hardship – I even sold my wedding jewellery to make ends meet,” she recalls.
Instead of wallowing in misery, Bharati decided to broaden her expertise in 2017 by delving into the specialised field of pharmaceutical compounding, recognising its untapped potential in Malaysia.
She fervently believes in the capacity of pharmacists to deliver personalised medication solutions to cater to diverse patient needs.
During this time, she also attended parent-teacher meetings, gave talks in schools on exam stress, as well as “hung out” at the squash court, where both her children were taking lessons.
One day, Bharati’s son threw a temper tantrum on the court.
She says: “Ishant was young then and had lost a match.
“He was smashing his racquet around and crying.
“I was embarrassed. I went up to the coach and asked him why Ishant was behaving like that – it was unacceptable.
“The tone I (egoistical mom) was using implied that the coach was not doing a good job and he sensed it.”
After a brief moment, the coach looked at her and said: “Are you sure you want me to tell you?
“What you’re seeing in court is a reflection of what is happening in your house. Go and check.”
Upon hearing this, Bharati started to shiver and unable to face the coach, ran to her car crying.
“I told my husband what the coach said.
“I think we were behaving like barbarians at home, always fighting and screaming.
“That day, I made a promise to not yell at home, and if my son comes back crying, we were not going to scold or respond back.
“If my husband and I had any arguments, we’d go into a room.”
Unknown to Bharati then, Ishant was likely dealing (badly) with the pressure of competitions and wanting to please his father, Atul Shah, a former national hockey player who had represented Malaysia in the World Junior Olympics.
From then on, if the kids misbehaved, Bharati and Atul tried their best not to retaliate, doing their best instead to listen patiently, be empathetic and ask if the child wanted to talk about it.
Slowly, the children “settled” down and there were no more tantrums at home.
This episode however, further intensified Bharati’s interest in mental health.
Loving her work
During one of her school talks, Bharati was asked if she was a certified trainer.
Combining her expertise as a pharmacist and mental health trainer, Bharati measures the blood glucose and blood pressure of each of the participants before and after her training sessions to show them the positive effects of the techniques she teaches.
“I had no idea what that was!” she confesses.
So, she trawled the Internet and found that she could become a Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) trainer.
But with dwindling savings, she couldn’t afford the RM2,600 fee.
Thankfully, her mother came to the rescue and provided her a stash of cash.
Bharati got certified and secured her first assignment – a two-day talk for a company – on stress management.
She loved it, as did the participants, and Bharati came home glowing with delight.
Her family commented it was the first time they had seen her happy after work.
Soon, training offers came pouring in and Bharati no longer had to skimp and save for her family.
She adds: “Before the sessions, I would do glucose tests and measure the participants’ blood pressure.
“Many also brought their medical reports along, and I noticed that after the two-day training with simple breathing techniques and laughter yoga, their blood pressure would drop by 15%.
“Doing simple things daily while at work can keep us healthy; we don’t have to go on a long vacation to destress.”
Just ask
Bharati with (from left) her son Ishant, daughter Isheta and husband Atul.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bharati, who was formerly vice-president of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, saw many of her junior colleagues break down from seeing dead bodies.
“We pharmacists have a WhatsApp group and I said every night we’re going to sit down and chat.
“Saying ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be ok’ or ‘It’s not so bad” or ‘He’s not dying, I witnessed someone else dying’ or ‘Everybody is suffering’ is not right.
“I myself got stuck as I didn’t know how to respond to comfort them.
“Even if we have gone through the same thing, it’s never the same experience for everyone,” she points out.
That’s when she stumbled on a programme that teaches people how to respond, and hence, she is now a certified mental health trainer accredited by Mental Health Management Australia.
For those who are suicidal, the right question to ask is: “Do you think about killing yourself?”
Bharati explains: “Persons who are having these thoughts actually want to be asked, and when they share, they’re out of those thoughts, so we can buy time.
“Don’t judge and say don’t do it or that they’re wrong because they won’t listen.
“A lot of us don’t ask because we don’t have the confidence to deal with someone having an emotional breakdown.
“So we walk away and may end up losing that person.
“It’s not about knowing the answers, but guiding the person and referring him to a healthcare professional.”
Sadly, Bharati says a number of her pharmacist friends see customers having mental issues, but don’t know how to broach the topic.
She emphasises that asking: “Do you need help?” or “Do you want me to call someone?” is already a response.
“Don’t leave them alone, pass them some number, and If they tell you not to tell anyone, don’t obey!
“If that person is thinking of ending his life, it’s your duty to make a call to his parents or whoever, but don’t tell the victim.
“Not intervening means suicide already.
“We cannot guarantee the end result, but they can be saved momentarily.”
