Community group says more people are looking for help with mental health issues, Singapore News & Top Stories



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SINGAPORE – More and more people are mobilizing to ask for help to deal with mental health issues.

According to Dr. Vincent Ng, AMKFSC's Executive Director of Community Services, the number of people who have sought help from MindCare Mental Health Service has increased by 42% over the past two years, either to themselves, either for their loved ones.

He delivered a speech at the MindStories exhibition on the central Ang Mo Kio stage on Sunday, October 14, the first event of the series of mental health awareness training series in Singapore of this year.

Organized by AMKFSC, it traces the personal experiences and anecdotes of 18 people in the fight against mental health issues, such as people in recovery, caregivers and advocates.

Guest of Honor Koh Poh Koon, Ang Mo Kio MP for the RCMP and Deputy Premier of Trade and Industry, said that from 2016 to June this year, AMKFSC's community services brought an intervention to nearly 400 people suffering from mental disorders.

"We are finding in our community that sometimes, some insoluble conflicts between neighbors actually have a recurring problem of mental health problems in one of the residents."

He added that today 's children face a lot of stress not only during studies, but also because of the risk of cyberbullying, due to the ubiquity of social media.

"During our time, we fought for marbles and spiders, physical things that you can actually replace when they are damaged.But today, the problem is not physical, but mental."

Dr. Koh also acknowledged progress in addressing mental health issues, citing the changing environment of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Buangkok.

"When you consider IMH as a hospital today, it's not like the old IMH of yesteryear," he said. "The former IMH of yesteryear looked like a maximum security prison, everything was closed.Today, the new IMH looks like a vacation spot, completely open and people are free to go. go in and out. "

The 2018 Singapore Series on Mental Health Awareness is the first time that partners in the mental health community are organizing outreach events of this magnitude.

Organized by 33 community partners, including the Agency for Integrated Care and IMH, this initiative will organize presentation tours and carnivals in five different regions of Singapore until October 31st.

The initiative aims to raise awareness and correct misconceptions about common mental health issues, while allowing people to learn to cope with stress and build resilience.

Ms. Linda Chua, 41, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder while she was going through a series of personal problems.

Although she knew of the signs of a mental health disorder and specialized in psychology at the University of London, Ms. Chua said that being in the current situation was very different from her theoretical study.

She now works as a part-time accountant and teacher and wants to help people overcome their own mental health issues, as a volunteer at the AMKFSC.

"I hope that they will not be embarrassed by the mental problems they face and that they will realize their potential and purpose in life," she said. "Live a fulfilling life despite all the mental conditions you may have."

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