Dr Ng speaks at the online forum.
SIBU (May 23): Association for Children with Special Needs Sibu, in collaboration with Fu Yuan Kindergarten, conducted a forum on ‘Managing Stress: Helping Families during the pandemic’ which was streamed live via Facebook, yesterday.
University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) provided the ICT technical support.
The speaker was Professor Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon the dean of Department of Psychology (Engagement & Internalisation), School of Medical and Life Sciences at Sunway University, Selangor.
The targeted audience were preschool teachers and early intervention workers, and the moderators were Dr Joyce Hii Beng Yee and Aaron Toh Aw Zien, from Clinical Research Centre of Sibu Hospital.
Dr Ng said the spread of Covid-19 has impacted the people’s daily life.
“Our lives are not like that in previous times, as movement are tied up with the standard operating procedure (SOP), and people, advised to stay at home to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“With more Covid-19 cases recorded, our rate of anxiety also increases,” he said.
He also said these changes led to isolation, sleep problems, eating problems, lack of physical activity, anxiety about education, fatigue and so on.
“The usual daily routine is disrupted…many parents often ask when school starts because they can’t wait to send their children to school. They want to focus on their work,” he said.
The huge changes caused by this pandemic were causing the community to experience even greater stress, he added.
Dr Ng said coping with these changes could also be stressful for young people and their families.
A study in the United Kingdom found that 15 per cent of young people would suffer from significant mental problems due to the pandemic.