Are you 1 of the 3?

Just 3 days ago, I saw this notification from Straits Time pop up on my phone and it certainly caught my attention.

1 out of 3 Singaporeans who suffer from severe depression, anxiety or stress is a high statistic. I have seen many young people advocating for mental health awareness on social media and I’m not sure whether how much it works till a certain extent.

Does bringing up the issue solve the root issue of the problem if it’s not the right people? Definitely there are more people who learnt how to seek help when needed, but how many people actually walked away from their dark past just by “forgetting about it?”

It might be a living nightmare for those suffering on a daily basis, and no matter how much “counselling” is done, how much of the pain will go away?

Some say “time will heal everything”, but it really doesn’t. We just learn how to cope with it.

There are so many people living amongst us who are spiralling everyday and how society wants us to act like there is nothing wrong with you so that you can blend in with the rest. Life can get very tiring yet you still have to live your life like a normal person and act like you are not dying a little everyday inside.

I struggled with anxiety a few years ago and I had the doctor prescribe me some medicine to cope with it. It was affecting my social life, like I was so scared to meet my friends even I vomited my dinner once I finished the food.

The main issue for me was that I was juggling way too many commitments, and I was drowning in them. Work + schooling + sports competition. I think what really pained me was that I had a bf then, yet when I told him about how I felt, he just kept telling me that he doesn’t know what to do about it. Plus my family just told me to go and see the doctor without trying to console me.

It just felt like nobody cared at all, that it was all my fault and my problem, so I had to settle it myself. In the end, i just quit my job, left my school and just stop the sport completely. Plus break up w my then-bf.

It was super liberating. Like I had no more shackles tied to me, I just freed myself from everything that is weighing me down.

I had friends who literally just put down everything and went to New Zealand to work. Honestly I was so tempted to do it too. Because the chances drop significantly once you are over 30 years old, and I only have a few years left.

After careful consideration, I still wanted to stay on my goal of getting a house in Singapore.

4 years has past since my anxiety has last re-surfaced, and I won’t say I’m living the perfect life. But I’m anxiety-free, bf-free and I am living a life when I’m just focusing on my work and I am satisfied.

To many Singaporeans out there, I just want to say the hustling life is not for everyone. If it works out for you, good for you. Just because everyone out there is working a few jobs, filling up their free time with productive things, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE LIKE THEM.

Please ignore what your toxic friends tell you when you are just spending time the way you like. Come on, do not shame others just because you think they are not productive as you.

I know there are many posts on social media, the successful people glorifying their success at the age of 18, making 5 figures. I really am happy that they are so successful at their age, but the endless comparison will get us nowhere. Even if you beat this 18 year old at earning that much, there will always be someone better at earning money out there.

If you are feeling down, the wrong move is to go to social media. Sorry but u will feel even more sh*tty! Just take a break from ur phone, and do things u really like to do. Take a walk, listen to music, take a bath.

Just stay away from your phone and be with yourself in the moment. Let other people’s voice and comments melt away in the background.

#SocialDiscussion #RealTalk #mentalhealth