Category: Mental Health in SingaporePage 1 of 3
While strides have been made to improve public perceptions of mental illnesses, conditions like depression and extreme anxiety are still, for the most part, considered taboo and not openly discussed.
In our fight to help remove the stigma associated with mental health conditions, we present stories of brave men and women who openly talk about their struggles with mental health.
We hope these interviews remind you that you’re not alone. We also hope that these men and women encourage you to seek help or speak with someone you trust if you’re silently battling with depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses.
How do you cope with life’s unexpected events? Jean Ling shows how she didn’t just survive but thrived after a car accident in New Zealand.
This World Mental Health Day, John Lim of Live Young and Well wants you to love yourself and lean on the power of friendships.
“I’ve learnt that when you gamble, you don’t only hurt yourself, but you hurt the people closest to you as well. So now, it’s not just about not wanting to fail myself, but also not wanting to fail the people I love.”
“Being a part of the musical felt amazing, because as ITE students, we were already looked at as the black sheep of society. So there was this genuine sense of unity; this sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. Everyone in the production really looked out for one another.”
“Whenever I hear how challenging it is for ex-offenders like myself to secure jobs, I am reminded of how fortunate I have been. My only hope is that society will be more widely accepting of ex-offenders starting afresh.”
“Everyone was born for a reason, and mine is to help the next generation discover themselves through music. Identity is the safeguard against low self-esteem, and everything I’m doing now is to help the youths find their voice.”
Maha Lakshmi: Bullied as a Kid for Having Curly Hair, Beauty Queen Learns to Love and Accept Herself
“I despised my hair when I was a kid because I was bullied excessively for having curly hair. In primary school, kids would throw staple bullets and pour eraser shavings into my hair. At that age when you’re so young and just want to be accepted, it was so hard to fit in.”
People of Legends | “In 2015, a family member whom I was close to committed suicide. It’s taken me a few years to talk about this without crying. With time, I’ve been able to speak about it to a couple of close friends, but beyond that, I don’t really bring it up in conversation.”
“Over the last year, that sense of emptiness and loneliness was so strong. I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I went on a journey of trying to figure it out.”
“The biggest thing I’ve learnt on this journey is that self-care is crucial, especially in parenting. As the saying goes, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’ Anything can happen with the kids, but when I become dysregulated with my emotions, that’s when things go down the drain…”
People of Legends | “I think boxing has helped me manage my ADHD because it forces me to concentrate and stay calm, which is something I am still working on improving, given that my mind often goes into overdrive.”
“I started experiencing anxiety and depression when I was 10-years-old. Being the only Malay girl in Chinese Dance, I was bullied a lot in school. Although I was accepted by my friends and teachers in the CCA, I was ostracised by people of my own race.”
People of Legends | Legend’s new kid on the block talks about how her visit to Perth inspired a new outlook on life.
“My biggest fear is dying and not having tried, and I have a lot of visions that I want to make a reality. At the same time, I am afraid of putting myself out there because there’s always a fear of failure. But I’d rather fail now than not try at all.’
“So it always comes back to the same question of ‘Are you happy?’ And what does it even mean to be happy? Does it even matter? Because it’s really hard to be happy in Singapore. There are so many expectations and it’s all very heartbreaking.”
“The worst thing I feared came true when I left the company. I was accused of stealing clients’ money. Debt collectors started chasing me and I started receiving death threats from the company’s clients…”
“A lot of people fail to understand that most of the time, the situation these parents are in is not a matter of choice for them. They are in survival mode. It’s not that they don’t have initiative or don’t want the best for their kids. They’re just trying their best to make ends meet.”
People of Legends | “In the ring, you’re by yourself. You may get punched or knocked down, and regardless of whether you win or lose, you gotta stand up and keep going. That’s how things go in real life.”
“I do not condone violence towards women, and I understand why the online community reacted the way they did. But, people do not know the full story, and it’s not their business to know any more than what I – or anyone involved – would like to share.”
“During those two years, he was sober for only six months. Yet everyday, being sober was a mental battle for him, and I wasn’t aware of it. Whenever he was on edge and I triggered him, it took everything within him to restrain himself from drinking his problems away.”