LAHORE, May 27: Governor Khalid Maqbool has underlined the need to promote positive and objective thinking in society to give the message of hope to the masses and thus help people overcome psychological problems.

He was addressing the inaugural session of a two-day conference organised by the Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologists (PACP) on ‘Natural disasters: psychological impacts and healing strategies’ at Alhamra here on Saturday.

He said that media, educationists, intellectuals, doctors and government officials dealing with the public could play a vital role in this connection.

“Cynicism and pessimism cause feelings of hopelessness and despondency which give rise to psychological problems,” he observed, adding “While social and economic problems do exist in our society, there is no reason for dismay or dejection, as we have also made great progress in different fields of life and brought about a tangible change in the lives of the people”.

He said media while displaying news of incidents of dacoity, murder, suicide etc should give equal prominence to positive reports about development and achievements in different sectors.

The governor also called for arrangements to train children at school level and prepare them to face challenges and difficulties with patience and boldness.

He said teachers should also be trained to understand the psyche of their students to help them overcome their weaknesses so that such handicaps or negative traits did not become a permanent part of their personality.

“Training of the children at school level will help them face hardships with firmness and prevent them from breaking down under pressures and stresses.”

He observed that anxiety and distress could also overcome by following Islamic teachings which enjoined patience and tolerance, and positive social values like respect for elders, love for children, and courtesy and kindness to all.

Appreciating the role of psychologists and psychiatrists following the national tragedy of last October’s earthquake, he said: “The whole nation was in trauma at that time, and you people worked well to help us come out of it”.