When he was 16, Mr Matthew Wong-Stewart, known on social media as Fish, found himself struggling with mental health issues and tried to take his own life.
But a message from a friend made him take a step back.
He realised that he “had so much more to look forward to”, said the former actor of the Wah!Banana YouTube channel in an emotional video released on 8 September as part of non-profit organisation Samaritans of Singapore‘s (SOS) campaign during Suicide Prevention Awareness Week.
Mr Stewart was raised in a family with a sports and military background. It made it difficult for him to share his struggles with his family or at school, he said.
This stigma that boys and men face is what SOS is trying to address in its suicide prevention campaign this week.
SOS said that of the 400 suicide cases recorded here last year, two out of three people were male. The figure is a cause for concern, and SOS said that it points to an underlying societal issue – stereotypes which stop boys and men from expressing their emotions.
Its campaign this year, called #SuicideSeesNoGender, includes video clips of men and their partners talking about the difficulties they faced and encouraged viewers to share their troubles.
SOS also noted that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, stress levels are on the rise among Singaporeans.
The Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) said that it noted a 49% increase in callers to its helpline and about a 15% increase in those experiencing mental health issues during the two-month circuit breaker.
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Source: The Straits Times, 11 September 2020