Forum: Open conversations important to destigmatise mental illness
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
I refer to the article “ Many of those who died by suicide showed warning signs like mood changes in week before death: Institute of Mental Health
It made me wonder how many of such deaths could have been prevented or caught in time by simply taking note of those around us. In our Asian culture, we are often taught to “mind your own business”, and that talking about things like suicide is considered taboo. This ought to change.
As pointed out in the article and other research, talking about suicide does not push one to commit it.
On the contrary, by having such conversations, we are given an opportunity to listen and validate the emotions that someone distressed may be having.
By having more open conversations, we can also help to destigmatise mental health illnesses.
Some may still be hesitant about starting such conversations. I would like to offer some advice.
Name the emotion that the person may be feeling – I hear that you are feeling stressed/sad.
Understand the emotion – I understand that what you are going through now may seem hopeless.
Respect the person for sharing – I thank you for sharing this with me.
Support – I am here for you, let us work through this together.
I hope that with more of such conversations, fewer lives will be lost to this tragedy of suicide.
Ryan Loke Rui Heng
