Counsellor: Crucial for women to prioritise themselves before others
If one does not take good care of one’s mental health, this would create negative emotions or behaviors such as being all stressed out or having difficulty concentrating on things. Thus, women should prioritise themselves and be mindful of their self-care, before prioritising others.
Nurul Syakila Sharifdan
Women must prioritise themselves before doing things for others, and there is nothing wrong about this, says a counsellor.
According to Nurul Syakila Sharifdan, the counseling and psychology officer at Lanang Health Clinic here, it is a wellknown notion that women are synonymous with the ability and willingness to handle many great responsibilities, but oftentimes, they ‘forget’ about the importance for them to take good care of themselves.
“If one does not take good care of one’s mental health, this would create negative emotions or behaviors such as being all stressed out or having difficulty concentrating on things. Thus, women should prioritise themselves and be mindful of their self-care, before prioritising others,” she said in her presentation during a talk on ‘Act! Voice Up, Women!’ at Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) here yesterday.
Organised by Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp), the programme was held in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2024. Adding on, Nurul Syakila said every woman must also assess herself in important areas in life such as love, achievement, freedom, survival and enjoyment.
“Many women whom I conduct counseling with are struggling when it comes to overcoming problems. I often ask them: ‘Have you ever evaluated yourself whether there is ‘enough’ in your life, in terms of love, achievement, freedom, survival and fun?
“If any of these things is not present in a woman’s life, she would experience physical, emotional and personal imbalance.”
Nurul Syakila the reiterated the importance of women taking good care of their mental health.
“There are proper ways to achieve good balance, among them are getting enough sleep and rest, doing leisurely activities, eating a balanced diet, and undergoing regular physical and mental checkups,” she added.
Some 50 people took part in the programme. Also present was HRD Corp stakeholder engagement officer Dominica Divina Lyilan.