THE stress of trying to make ends meet amid shrinking purchasing power and rising cost of living is making young people turn to counselling to deal with the new pressures.

The Malaysian Insight held a quicky survey among registered counsellors and found that the number of people calling counselling hotlines for assistance has increased since April, and that majority of them are working adults aged 25 to 50.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, people called Befrienders Johor Baru to express worry about the coronavirus but now they want to talk about their personal finances.

“After most pandemic restrictions were lifted and the economy reopened in April, people returning to work found the price of goods soaring,” said Befrienders president Danny Loo.

“Salaried people also found they could not cope with the price hikes. Their salaries had not risen correspondingly.

“Their pay remained constant while food prices spiralled upwards. Life had suddenly become harder,” Loo said.

He said a husband and wife’s combined salary of RM5,000 is no longer enough to sustain them, much less enough for them to save.

“After paying for living costs, there is nothing left. So they become very worried.”

D’Dawn Psychological Development Centre has been receiving calls for help to deal with the pressures of life.

Founder and psychologist Tan Chee Seng said callers are in the 30-40 age group.

“News of price hikes are enough to create psychological pressure for many people,” Tan said.

“They can feel the pressure of their income not catching up with the changing economic situation.

“During the pandemic, many people were worried about their jobs and the stresses of an unstable income. They thought the pressure would go away when things returned to normal. Instead, other pressures followed.

“They did not only have piles of work to catch up on when they went back to the office, they had to deal with equally stressed bosses.

“Families find they have more stress waiting at home as they have to help their children catch up with their schoolwork before they resume physical classes.”

Tan said most who seek counselling do not understand what is causing food prices to rise.

“Inflation is something that is out of our control. It’s a global phenomenon.

“They cannot do anything about it except cut their expenses. It is something they should be prepared to accept.”

He said the failure to understand inflation is what is causing them to get stressed.

Adjustment disorder

Tan said the one thing he found the callers had in common was that most were unprepared to tighten their belts and live an austere lifestyle during these tough times.

“They just cannot control their spending.”

In Sarawak, Kuching Bodhi Counselling Centre counsellor Sim Chia Wei said the group most stressed by inflation are the low-income families who are already living on a shoestring budget.

He said the poor have to spend more of their meagre income on essentials.

He said even well-off families are also uneasy about the future.

“They don’t know how long this inflationary situation will last and how long they can cope with it.”

Sim said young wage earners who have to support their families and pay their loans are also stressed.

He said their main worry is whether they will lose their jobs.

Sim said the inability of people to make adjustments to their life to cope with the economic situation will lead to something known as adjustment disorder.

“In other words, if we continue to avoid facing up to the problem, it will cause more stress.”  – July 21, 2022.