KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — A clinical psychologist has questioned the application of a so-called “anti-hysteria kit” sold by a local university for RM8,750, asking if its claimed Islamic elements will allow it to work on people of all faiths.
Vizla Kumaresan said this and other questions about the kit marketed by Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) needed answering, particularly as hysteria was not a condition unique to Muslims.
“The fact is if you are counting it as Islamic, what about non-Muslims... does it work for them? Would this RM 8,750 kit be applicable to non-Muslims? If it doesn’t, what is the rationale for that?
“Are they going to say hysterical reactions among Muslims are different from non-Muslims?” asked the consultant clinical psychologist from the MindWorks Psychology and Counselling Centre.
On April 30, UMP revealed its anti-hysteria kit comprising everyday items such as chopsticks, salt, lime, vinegar, pepper spray, and formic acid for a whopping RM8,750 that it claims can ward off “evil spirits”.
Several local Malay dailies reported the institution as saying that the kit, which took three years to produce, was created to address hysteria afflicting young students, typically a condition of exaggerated or uncontrollable emotions.
UMP vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Daing Nasir Ibrahim reportedly claimed that in the Quran and the hadith, it is stated that spirits are unable to tolerate salty, sour and spicy items, listing salt, lime, vinegar and black pepper as examples.
While questioning the science behind the kit, Vizla conceded that culture plays an important part in how a person reacts to hysteria.
But despite acknowledging the influence of culture, the trained psychologist insisted that UMP must explain the science and studies that went into its kit.
“We can’t discount that as they are huge cultural elements. There are also manifestations of this in Christian mythology, but they need to be clear on the evidence-based researched available to lend credence to an almost RM9,000 equipment like this and how it weighs up on other scientific evidence,” Vizla told Malay Mail Online today.
Expanding further, Vizla said that scientific research has long established a correlation between hysteria and anxiety, an unpleasant state of inner turmoil often accompanied by nervous behaviour.
She added that a lot of the immediate responses to hysterical situations would be to calm the victims down, with many alternatives available and applicable regardless of faith.
“Finger tapping is one way... tapping the person on their temple or asking them to tap their upper thighs. What you want to do is to get them rooted to the present,” she offered.
Other methods include breathing techniques to mitigate the symptoms of hyperventilation that sometimes accompanies hysteria and help calm the sufferer.
She said that intervention is also needed to ascertain the root cause of the hysterical episode after the person has recovered and this required professional psychological training.
According to Vizla, hysteria treatment is also a long-term and holistic approach to prevent future recurrences, involving cognitive behaviour therapy and proven response models.
“So, I would be very interested to know what went into the institution’s three-year research to create the product,” she added.
