The shocking economic toll of mental illness

One of the statistics that startled me recently was that anxiety and depression in the post-pandemic era could be costing Singapore 2.9 per cent of its gross domestic product – or

nearly $16 billion every year

– in lost productivity, according to a study by Duke-NUS Medical School. But as shocking as this may seem, it’s likely to be, if anything, a gross underestimate if all the direct and indirect costs of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses are taken into account.

Having had to deal with the mental illness of a (now late) sibling for more than 40 years, I have witnessed, up close and personal, how debilitating and terrifying its impact can be – most of all, for the person directly affected, but also for others, as well as the costs that it entails.