SINGAPORE – When she was growing up, Ms Tey Mei Yan, 46, wondered why she had crying spells and would isolate herself. It was only when marital problems and the stress of caring for her family led to a severe breakdown in 2019 did she resolve to seek psychiatric help.
Being diagnosed with major depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at the age of 42 allowed her to make sense of her mental upheavals, and to embark on the road to recovery.
Her comeback inspired her to become a peer support specialist, and for the past year she has been helping others facing mental health conditions to recover and reintegrate into society.
On Friday, Ms Tey was recognised at the Beyond the Label (BTL) Festival, an annual event to rally community support for persons with mental health conditions and to encourage them to seek help.
The festival, which was held at Jewel Changi Airport, was organised by the BTL Collective – a grouping of organisations working to educate and equip the public to support those living with mental health conditions.
While the BTL Collective has focused on promoting mental health awareness and support among youth in the past year, it is starting to hold talks and workshops in the community so that residents can gain knowledge and basic skills to identify people with mental health conditions, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua said at the festival.
Pilots are currently being rolled out in Punggol West and Bukit Batok East said Mr Chua at the event, which was graced by President Halimah Yacob.
“What’s wonderful about this is that we are enhancing the capabilities of everyone in the neighbourhood to be confident in rendering mental health support and care to those around us,” he said, noting that the aim is to reach at least 1,000 individuals per town.
This is key as identifying a mental health condition is the first step to recovery, said marketing manager Aidil Arsad.
The 36-year-old had panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and could not get out of bed for a month after a traumatic incident when he was 28. Being diagnosed with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder gave him a sense of relief.
“I know now that there is a name for what I’ve been facing and dealing with,” said Mr Aidil, who is now an advocate on social media for mental health. “When I can put a name to it, I can own it and I know how to manage it.”
