Eunice Tan
PMHIs: ‘Weak’, ‘Crazy’ and ‘Dangerous’
Written with Denice Wong | Reporting Story | February 2019
Stigma surrounding mental health illnesses causes 70 percent of PMHIs to have difficulty living with dignity.
The stigma of mental health illnesses is still prevalent in society but is observed to be more prominent among older groups and adults.
According to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), seven in 10 persons with mental health conditions face challenges living with dignity because of others’ attitudes and actions. People who suffer from mental health illnesses are perceived as ‘crazy’ or ‘dangerous’.
Mr Low Kin Chong, 17, a student at Singapore Polytechnic diagnosed with depression and social anxiety disorder, shared his experience as a Person with Mental Health Issues (PMHI): “They call you ‘crazy’ and are weary of you, they’re suspicious. The younger generation aren’t really the ones who make these assumptions, it’s mostly the older generation.”
In a recent survey conducted by npTribune, it was found that among PMHIs surveyed, 62.5 percent of them said that they have experienced stigmas. The public is accepting of PMHIs only to a certain extent, with older groups showing more negative attitudes.
In the same survey, adults on average chose 5.5 on a scale of one to 10 on how willing they are to work with PMHIs on projects. Whereas for youths, respondents on average chose seven.
Severity of Stigma
It takes an average of seven years for PMHIs to seek professional help and the stigma is to be blamed.
“When someone says that they’re depressed, sometimes the first reaction they receive is ‘are you sure?’ which I think invalidates their entire mental health state,” said Mr Low.
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Negative attitudes from peers also cause PMHIs to have self-stigma. Studies from NCSS have shown that one in two youths will be embarrassed if they were diagnosed with mental health conditions. Additionally, three in four do not seek help primarily because they are worried to be seen going to the psychologist or approaching a school counsellor.
There has been a significant increase in mental health conditions among Singaporeans over the years, from one in eight in 2010, to one in seven in 2016. Youths aged 18 to 24 are most likely to experience the top three mental health illnesses - Depression, Alcohol abuse and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This is due to multiple transitions in life such as graduating from school and entering the workforce.
Having Awareness
“When I tell my friends I have depression, they think I’m just at [sic] a constant state of sadness which isn’t the case,” Mr Low says.
Mr Lim Jia Hong, 18, a non-PMHI student at Temasek Polytechnic, said that his first impression of PMHIs are that they are “very moody and irritable”.
The general sentiment among the people npTribune have surveyed are that there are insufficient programmes to educate the public, specifically the youths, about mental health issues.
In the same survey conducted by npTribune about the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, 98 percent of youths felt that there were not enough educational programmes in school. Additionally, 70 percent of them said they were not aware of any programmes in and out of school.
Jaime Chong, 17, a non-PMHI Nanyang Junior College student said: “Initially, I was a bit scared and found myself having the tendency to distance [myself] from [PMHIs] but that’s due to the lack of knowledge about what mental health issues is exactly.”
With more opportunities for people to learn about mental health conditions, the existing stigma would be reduced.
Being Inclusive
PMHIs want to feel accepted, valued and a sense of belonging, with eight in 10 believing that the best thing society can do is to be more inclusive. The level of respect and dignity given to PMHIs should be the same as what is given to non-PMHIS. That means equal employment opportunities in the workforce and interactions with them without judgement on their mental health conditions.
Offering them care and support is also a powerful way to be inclusive. Mr Low said: “I mean, education is important too but it all dies down to our compassion and empathy towards our peers.”