Look at these statistics and tell me that there's nothing wrong with our country. Open your eyes and tell me you do not see an increasing number of people suffering from mental disorders. Listen! Do you not hear what your friends are saying?
"I have bulimia."
"I think I'm depressed."
"I googled what I was feeling and they seem to say I'm suffering from an panic attack."
Listen and tell me that our country is doing something about this situation. Listen and tell me that society is still not stigmatising these mental illnesses till this day. World Mental Health day just passed, but did anyone know about it? What captures the world's interest these days sickens me to the very core. Society repulses me.
What happened to helping one another? The kampong spirit we used to be so proud of...? Have we vanished along with the industrial revolution? Has being modernised removed every ounce of our emotions?
I hate that I'm staring at all these problems and I feel so helpless 'cause I can't fucking do a damn thing. I want to encourage them that things will be better, but how can I when I know that this country will do nothing to help them. These people already feel like they don't belong with themselves, now, society's telling them they don't belong there either. What the fuck do you want from them? They seek help, they get scorned by society, they reject help, they die anyway. Is there truly no way out for them?
Okay, let me substantiate my points okay? I believe Singapore is making an effort, I just don't think it's enough.
1. Silver Ribbon
Like honestly la, don't say I biased or what, you heard of yellow ribbon, pink ribbon, even got white ribbon, you got hear before silver ribbon anot?
"What is silver ribbon?"
If you ask me that, then you're just further proving my point, cause apparently, SILVER RIBBON IS MEANT FOR AWARENESS OF MENTAL HEALTH IN SINGAPORE.
| SAY WHATTTTT???? |
Link here.
P.S. They should just sack the publicist. She ain't doing a good job. Clearly.
2. MAD race
"To mark World Mental Health Day, Singapore's very first Make-A-Difference race will be held to create greater awareness of depression." - CNA
Okay, it's either I never watch news very often or they really said NOTHING about this race. I mean, F1 publicise so much then this kind of meaningful races - SILENCE. Thanks ah.
"A recent mental health literacy study spearheaded by the Institute of Mental Health, which surveyed adult residents aged 18 to 65 years old in Singapore, showed that Major Depressive Disorder, or depression, is more likely to be perceived as a weakness instead of an illness.
"There's also the fear that ‘hey, he's mentally unwell, is he going to do something out of the ordinary?’” said Dr Mok. “A lot of it is creating awareness and educating people.
“For people who suffered from it to come out to talk and share about it, and be very open about the treatments available, sufferers will know that help is possible - recovery is more than possible."
"I think community and family support is very important,” said Sung. “They really play a huge role in understanding, to be able to provide the care."
Researchers say there is still a need to improve mental health literacy through better planned anti-stigma campaigns. They hope such campaigns will encourage those suffering from depression to seek early treatment."
Okay, for that statement I give you credit, Singapore, at least you know your efforts are insufficient. "better planned" had me laughing for a very long while but yes, Singapore, I appreciate your honesty but don't lie please. You planned anti-stigma campaigns for other causes for years. If you can fight the stigma against ex convicts etc, why not this as well? Yellow Ribbon Project is an awesome cause and an excellent project, and I'm sure part of the reason why it's so successful (I measure success by influence in this case) is because they're receiving funding from the government to run their projects publicity and stuff right? So why don't you put in the same effort into Silver Ribbon Project too? Are you declaring that one party is less important than the other? Because to be honest, I see no difference. Both can't fit into society standards and both are rejected and not given a second chance.
Both are severely undermined in today's society. In the end, there's no difference. *laughs* Excellent job in removing the stigma, government. Excellent job done.
Check out MAD run here.
3. Talks, booths and games
WOW. Is this a primary school carnival, seriously? You want others to take you seriously but you cater your audience to young kids? Then adults don't need to know about depression liao la? Funny cause the ones who are dying most are the adults any way. #irony
So what is this event about? Apparently this:
"More than 3,000 residents at Hougang, Geylang Serai and Woodlands visited educational booths, heard talks on how to manage stress and played games to keep their brains active, such as rummy-o. Other activities included laughter yoga, music therapy and a taiji demonstration." - Strait Times
You tell me not like primary school carnival meh? -.-
More statistics...
"According to the Singapore Mental Health Study 2010, more than one in 10 people in Singapore will be stricken by mental illness in their lifetime, with depression being the most common. It is projected to affect 170,000 adults, with more women affected than men."
Not serious enough right? Confirm must be! If not why everyone treating this like joke sia what the fuck.
Okay, it's either I never watch news very often or they really said NOTHING about this race. I mean, F1 publicise so much then this kind of meaningful races - SILENCE. Thanks ah.
Even Queen Elizabeth also bui song liao la.
The news article still proceeded to report this:
"A recent mental health literacy study spearheaded by the Institute of Mental Health, which surveyed adult residents aged 18 to 65 years old in Singapore, showed that Major Depressive Disorder, or depression, is more likely to be perceived as a weakness instead of an illness.
"There's also the fear that ‘hey, he's mentally unwell, is he going to do something out of the ordinary?’” said Dr Mok. “A lot of it is creating awareness and educating people.
“For people who suffered from it to come out to talk and share about it, and be very open about the treatments available, sufferers will know that help is possible - recovery is more than possible."
"I think community and family support is very important,” said Sung. “They really play a huge role in understanding, to be able to provide the care."
Researchers say there is still a need to improve mental health literacy through better planned anti-stigma campaigns. They hope such campaigns will encourage those suffering from depression to seek early treatment."
Okay, for that statement I give you credit, Singapore, at least you know your efforts are insufficient. "better planned" had me laughing for a very long while but yes, Singapore, I appreciate your honesty but don't lie please. You planned anti-stigma campaigns for other causes for years. If you can fight the stigma against ex convicts etc, why not this as well? Yellow Ribbon Project is an awesome cause and an excellent project, and I'm sure part of the reason why it's so successful (I measure success by influence in this case) is because they're receiving funding from the government to run their projects publicity and stuff right? So why don't you put in the same effort into Silver Ribbon Project too? Are you declaring that one party is less important than the other? Because to be honest, I see no difference. Both can't fit into society standards and both are rejected and not given a second chance.
Both are severely undermined in today's society. In the end, there's no difference. *laughs* Excellent job in removing the stigma, government. Excellent job done.
Check out MAD run here.
3. Talks, booths and games
WOW. Is this a primary school carnival, seriously? You want others to take you seriously but you cater your audience to young kids? Then adults don't need to know about depression liao la? Funny cause the ones who are dying most are the adults any way. #irony
So what is this event about? Apparently this:
"More than 3,000 residents at Hougang, Geylang Serai and Woodlands visited educational booths, heard talks on how to manage stress and played games to keep their brains active, such as rummy-o. Other activities included laughter yoga, music therapy and a taiji demonstration." - Strait Times
You tell me not like primary school carnival meh? -.-
More statistics...
"According to the Singapore Mental Health Study 2010, more than one in 10 people in Singapore will be stricken by mental illness in their lifetime, with depression being the most common. It is projected to affect 170,000 adults, with more women affected than men."
Not serious enough right? Confirm must be! If not why everyone treating this like joke sia what the fuck.
I am just so done with this.
We got pink dot, we got so many movements fighting for so many causes but none for mental illness awareness at all. Yeah, I know, I'm not saying Singapore hasn't tried at all, I'm saying it's not enough. IT'S ALWAYS NOT.
That being said, there's this last project I wanna introduce that's the coolest I've seen by far.
(SINGAPORE YOU FINALLY GOT SOMETHING RIGHT)
It's a really good project so I'm gonna use proper English to type this out. Under their 'About Us' section, here's what they wrote:
"We share first-person mental health stories in Singapore. The Tapestry Project SG is a non-profit, ground-up initiative that features community mental health narratives ranging from the personal to the professional. Started by a person-in-recovery, our online publication was launched in January 2014 and continues to inspire hope and challenge negative stereotypes associated with mental health, illness and recovery today. By sharing heartfelt, authentic narratives, we wish for our readers to see beyond our statistics, and to recognise that behind every statistic is a real person with a story to tell.
It is our goal to have hope and dignity restored to individuals and families who struggle with what is otherwise an “invisible” illness.
We invite you to join in our cause for mental health advocacy and education. Your story matters."
They aim to do it through three means:
- Stories for Connection
To bring connection and knit together a community of support and empathy and bridge the gap in helping readers find relevant help and resources within our community.
- Stories for Education
To address the myths of mental illness, encourage dialogue on mental health issues, and honour the incredible lives touched by mental illness. These encourage personal insight and shed light on a topic that is still considered taboo in Singapore.
- Stories for Empowerment
By giving our readers access to first-person insights, tools, processes, and support systems that are available locally, Tapestry stories empower individuals to lead overcoming lives. We believe that recovery begins with us sharing our stories. We also offer talks and workshops which reach out to tertiary institutions, workplaces and other communities so as to strengthen mental health awareness and support recovery.
So please, go support that project cause it's damn cool ^^
Alright. Thank you for your time. I'm done raging already. See you all whenever I blog again.
BYEBYE.
No comments:
Post a Comment