by Gan YiJie
‘The dead are more honest than the living.’
Sometimes, the death of a person can reveal a lot more about society than the sugar-coated words of the living. With the increase in number of suicides in Singapore from 361 in 2017 to 397 in 2018, one should be concerned about the underlying issues that Singaporeans face. One can even argue that suicides are likely to rise in the future due to changes in societal norms. I will now dwell into the reasons for making this argument.
1. Rising number of elders that live alone
A large proportion of Singaporeans who commit suicide are aged 60 and above. Out of 361 suicides that occurred in 2017, 129 of them were 60 and above. Furthermore, 83000 elderly are projected to live alone by 2030, a sharp increase from 47000 in 2017. This is mostly due to Singapore’s ageing population as a result of better healthcare. Remaining single is also becoming an increasingly common choice. This will no doubt expose more elders to the threat of suicide in the future.
2. A highly competitive economy
In the past, good college grades alone could allow Singaporeans to secure a job and live a stable life. However, as college became more affordable to the populace, competition has grown so intense due to the abundance of college graduates. Besides good grades, one must also invest a significant proportion of their time in co-curricular activities just to obtain a decent job. This is worsened by Singapore’s dismal economic growth of only 0.1% in the 2nd quarter of 2019. There are limited jobs available to a large pool of graduates. Hence, it’s not difficult to see why some students may choose to end their lives given the overwhelming amount of stress.
With that said, I believe Singapore must do more to create a society tolerant of mental illnesses. This is especially so in a society where more than half of the population are not willing to live with or work with a mentally ill person. Schools should discuss more in detail about mental health during civics and moral education classes. Besides teaching students to seek help when needed, teachers should encourage them to be more accepting and understanding of those with mental health issues. Eventually, those with poor mental health will be more willing to seek advice from people around them. This is especially important as helplines are unable to tend to them 24/7.
I am certainly no expert in dealing with suicides. However, I believe that there are others who can solve the problems that suicidal people face, and that it is imperative to encourage those in despair to look for such people.
References:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/suicides-number-2018-teenagers-boys-highest-11761480
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/the-loneliness-of-old-age-and-an-experiment-to-see-if-instagram-10675658
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/number-of-suicides-among-seniors-hits-record-high
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/many-still-steer-clear-of-people-with-mental-illness-poll
The Watercooler 
“There are limited jobs available to a large pool of graduates. Hence, it’s not difficult to see why some students may choose to end their lives given the overwhelming amount of stress. ” In response to this part of the paragraph, it does hold true to a certain extent that stress due to unemployment may cause people to feel a certain type of way about themselves. That uncertainty from not knowing where you are going to after graduation is something undergraduates like me can relate to.I could be wrong in saying this though, but I think this would apply to those who weren’t born with a silver spoon, like those who come from a lower income background.
However, I would say there are many other possibilities that can cause people to feel suicidal – there may be other factors that we also need to look into.
LikeLike
Hi Gan. This is a really interesting post and puts light on an important issue in today’s society. As we live in such a hectic environment, it is understanding why sucide rates are on the rise. I agree that we have a societal responsibility to prevent suicide, but how do you think is the best way to go about this? Do you think all of society need to be redesigned or we can create a means to counter the impacts of recent societal developments?
LikeLike
This rise in suicide cases is an especially concerning phenomenon because it suggests that more and more people are turning head on our most fundamental instinct as living beings: to survive. It makes me wonder how far people have been pushed to bring their minds to a 180-degree turn in direction: towards death rather than life. Maybe we need less complications in our world, and a simpler approach to life.
LikeLike
Hello! Thank you for sharing.
I wholeheartedly agree with us needing to pay more attention to mental health issues in Singapore.
However, I would like to add on to some of the matters you have discussed:
1. Stigma – I think we should also work towards deconstructing the Asian mentality of not being open with our mental health. Some of us may have been conditioned to hide our struggles and to deal with them on our own. Also, consider the different attitudes between the younger generation and the older generation. The older generation might be more dismissive of mental health struggles of young people as they would regard them to be unable to handle difficult situations. (https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/www.refinery29.com/amp/en-us/asian-american-mental-health-second-generation-immigrants – while this is in the American context, I believe some part of it is applicable to our context)
2. Highly competitive environment – I think we are taking steps in the right direction to reduce the pressure. An example would be the reduction of exams for secondary school and primary school students. However, I wonder if we can truly alleviate the pressure enough as we are still living in a fast paced and competitive world. (consider the other less developed countries who are rapidly developing.)
LikeLike
In response to stigma, it really comes down to us to be more supportive of those with mental health struggles. Change starts with us.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing, Yijie.
Having taken a course last semester that touched on campaigns dealing with suicide, I do believe societal norms play a strong factor in failing to reduce or halt the growth of suicide rates in Singapore. Mental health stigma continues to be a thorn in Singaporean society there is some inertia on shifting the attitudes on people with mental illnesses especially amongst the older population. People are conditioned to believe that metal illness = ‘useless’ or ‘weakness’ and would not associate themselves with others suffering from these issues. To make matters worse, people with mental illnesses themselves start denying the fact that they genuinely need help which can turn minor mental health issues into serious ones with deadly implications (a double stigma, if you will). This is also partly caused by our extremely competitive society, especially in education, where your academic performance is relative to how well everyone else does. The infamous bell curve system is one notable example of this.
I had the opportunity to speak with NIE Wellness Centre’s Clinic Manager, Bernard Mackenzie, on this matter and he did agree that society has a big part to play in worsening or alleviating suicide rates in Singapore, especially among the younger generation. While we are starting to see promising trends such as a larger number of youth taking the initiative to seek medical help for mental issues AND a anti-stigma campaign earlier this year, we have a long way to go when it comes to normalising mental illness and making it acceptable to talk about it. Only then, I feel, will we be able to see a considerable change to the suicide rate.
LikeLike
I agree that deteriorating quality of life for seniors and employment related stress are two of the biggest factors related to suicides in Singapore. However, not everyone who faces these grievances considers suicide, and not everyone who commits suicide faces these grievances.
So, while it is important to look at the source of stress, it is probably more important to look at how we as a society deal with this stress. As Dilip and Gabriel have mentioned before me, it is important to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. If people feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts of self harm to mental health professionals, it will definitely lead to a reduction in the suicide rate.
LikeLike
1. No, the problem with the elderly is not living alone, they can go out and interact with other members of the community. The problem is that they may be able to afford expenses for recreation and community activities or are too busy working, since many are in poverty. https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-poverty-in-singapore/
2. The economy is unfortunately, highly competitive by design. It doesn’t matter how educated the population is, companies will hire on a relative basis, leading to a never ending educational arms race. Perhaps it is time a Job Guarantee program is considered for Singapore (and maybe the world too, given that this dynamic exists throughout job markets everywhere) https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/05/full-employment-job-guarantee-bernie-bruenig
LikeLike
I think the main issue when it comes to issues surrounding mental health, is that the conversation should really recognise the lack of accessibility to proactive mental health support and counselling. The expenses of private counselling, and the focus on high risk cases with short term support, over long term support for ongoing mental health support, creates a necessity for sustainable resources for mental health issues.
Within both the education sector and health care sector, the lack of prioritisation of mental health support resources, that are often over subscribed and under funded, require a clear institutional prioritisation of different forms of health care.
Conversations are important for breaking down stigma, but systematic change needs to be implemented to create accesible platforms and resources that people can access.
LikeLike
I think it in Singapore, suicide has been swept under the carpet, simply because it is such a taboo topic here. I have rarely seen it addressed in schools, even though they regularly tackle a whole host of other social issues. You are definitely right, that Singapore should be more open to creating a environment in which mental health issues can be discussed. Whilst the problems and statistics regarding suicide you mentioned are stark (and a little depressing), we need to face these issues, and it will do no one any good to pretend that these realities do not exist.
LikeLike