Session one of the online event, “UTAR International Women’s Day 2021: Empowering Women, Gearing towards Equality”, jointly organised by UTAR and National Cancer Society Malaysia on 3 April 2021 via ZOOM, attracted a supportive crowd online.

The online event aimed to recognise women’s contribution to society and promote awareness on gender equality, which is also one of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations. Session one saw invited speaker from St John Ambulance Lawrence Fong sharing on “Clinical Depression” and Founder and Creator of Doux Visage Sdn Bhd Dr Jenny Goh sharing on “Perseverance is the Key to Success”.

“This event aims to celebrate the achievements of women and girls in society. Over the years, UTAR has produced numerous and excellent female graduates and some of our alumnae have prominent roles and positions in their workplace and society. Today, more women have taken up the leadership role and the number of women working in the male-domineering industry has also increased. Having obtained their tertiary education also enabled and provided women with the opportunities to play more roles and responsibilities at work. However, there is a need for women to have a balance between work and home, so they are not over-burdened. The burden sometimes may lead to stress and burnouts, and determining their respective roles will help them manage their time better,” said Organising Chairperson Dr Phoon Lee Quen.

Fong explained in his clinical depression talk, “The scope of first aid in mental health includes to prevent deterioration of mental health of the patient, prevent self-harm or harm to others, calm and support patients’ acute needs and constraints, manage and control patient’s behaviour or disturbance, and send the patient to a hospital for treatment via ambulance as soon as possible.”

He continued, “With depression, we understand that it is a normal human’s emotional response to a given situation, or towards lost. This form of emotional response usually lasts for a short time. However, for someone with clinical depression, these emotional responses will last much longer and bring forth self-neglect. Some even consume excessively and harbour death wishes or suicidal thoughts. Other signs of clinical depression include fatigue, irritability and difficulty in concentrating, social isolation, insomnia or hypersomnia, and changes in appetite.”

Possible causes of clinical depression as listed by Fong were inheritance, personality, relationship problems, body hormonal changes, drug-induced, and stress. He also listed the various types of depression, such as exogenous depression, endogenous depression and pre or postnatal depression. More severely, he explained that people with manic depressive psychosis needs medical intervention for mood swings, and is more dangerous because the patient can die of physical exhaustion or suicide.

“Fortunately, Fong assured participants that clinical depression can be treated with counselling, diversion therapy, oral medication, acupuncture, and electric convulsion therapy (ECT). Therefore, early recognition of these signs can essentially save lives, and among the effective methods are to seek counselling or professional medical intervention,” advised Fong.

While sharing her experience, Dr Goh explained, “Perseverance implies continuous effort and determination. It also implies that one has to work hard in order to achieve success. Working hard means putting more effort and hours than the average person and the willingness to make sacrifices for a better and secured future. In other words, strive for success and strive to be different. With perseverance, you are pushed to work through challenges because without perseverance, you will not get far in life.”

She went on to share inspiring stories of females who have proven that women can be equally successful and be recognised for their contributions. Dr Goh also shared her personal experience and humble beginnings, which has led to her success today.

“No doubt, education, money, talent, experience, and pedigree are some of the factors for success, but the main key elements for your success are perseverance, persistence, and tenacity. Perseverance is a personality trait that pushes you to overcome challenges, and having perseverance means using your mind and body to overcome the challenges faced,” advised Dr Goh.

Participants also learnt of the advantages of perseverance, which were trustworthiness, self-confidence, and increased motivation for achieving success. She emphasised again the importance of having perseverance in achieving success in life and that it encourages one to face their own fears.

“Where there is perseverance, there will be persistence. The best way to maintain this attitude is by self-talk, where you motivate yourself. Lastly, be SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely,” advised Dr Goh.