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Social Issue: Unable to make a living out of arts / finding a more practical job

Link: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/arts-scene-singapore-artistic-millennials-making-a-living-11116848

Stand: Arts is more than just art; it is a platform for messages and, even a better platform to call for change. We should be comfortable with change, because change is the only constant in life.

Theme: Every pursuing artists deserve chances and opportunities for self-expression and should not be confined by societal rules

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Social Issue: LGBT Discrimination

Link: https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapore-society-still-largely-conservative-but-becoming-more-liberal-on-gay-rights-ips

Personal Stand: LGBT couples should have the same rights and benefits that Heterosexual couples in Singapore get from the government.

Theme: Equality becomes an important issue when the human rights to start a family and access to housing is at stake.

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Social Issue: Pets being abandoned

Article:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/groups-fighting-to-save-abandoned-abused-rabbits-10577208

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-dogs-given-up-as-part-of-spring-cleaning

Personal Stand: Although people support the idea of “adopt, don’t shop”, there are still many people in Singapore who are still buying pets either out of impulsiveness or they do not know the responsibility needed to take care of a pet. I strongly feel that there should be more steps to ensure that potential owners are ready to take care of a pet, and there should be more support given to animal rescue groups.

Theme: People need to take responsibility of their actions, especially when it involves living beings

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Social issue: Abortion debate

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47940659

Theme: Basic human rights especially for minority groups, in this case, women.

Personal stand: Abortion is a personal issue, dependant on the individual. It should be a choice that isn't interfered by others' opinion, even if you are pro-life or pro-choice. To revoke abortion rights from women would be injustice. Not only that, to ban abortion at 6-weeks of the pregnancy (which is when most women find out they are pregnant) is unreasonable. Women has the right to make the choice, as it is their body and society/community or even their significant other should not interfere or be against it.

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Social Issue : Poverty Affects Education

Link : https://moneywise.com/a/ways-poverty-affects-education

Theme : Every child deserves a proper education, despite their socio-economic status.

Personal stand : I believe that every child should be given equal opportunities in their education. Money should not be something that stops them from getting the education they need/deserve. How do we expect our future generation to function and prosper when we deny them of their education because of money?

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Social issue: Elderly loneliness

Link: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/lonely-and-waiting-to-die-singapore-s-elderly-poor-find-hope-in-8844768

Stand: I believe that elderly loneliness can be avoided if we put in more effort to communicate with and intergrate seniors in our society, rather than shunning them because we see them as a burden.

Theme: No one should be isolated because of their age, physical or mental condition.

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Social issue: Rights of maids in Singapore
Link: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/2-maids-said-their-boss-asked-them-to-climb-onto-second-storey-glass-awning
Personal stand: I think we should take violations against the human rights of maids more seriously, people often forget that the helpers are actually people until something bad happens to them
Theme: Everybody deserves basic human rights regardless of "social status"

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dying rock scene

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Social Issue

Chinese Privilege

Link

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/university-student-who-molested-woman-gets-probation-for-minor-intrusion

Personal Stand

Chinese privilege exists in Singapore because the fella did not go to jail for a crime he committed as he has the ‘potential to excel in life’

Theme

There should be equality amongst all races because ultimately, we are all the same.

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Social Issue: Social Divide in Singapore

Link: https://www.todayonline.com/voices/problem-social-divide-extends-beyond-school

Personal Stand: No matter what the Singapore government does to prevent social divide, it is bound to exist in our society as it is hard to change Singaporeans' mentality.

Theme: We need to stereotype less and change our mentalities :))))))))

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Social issue: China’s re-education camps for Uighurs

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-48700786

Personal stand: We shouldn’t ostracise smaller communities just because they are not like the majority.

Theme: Living harmoniously with all cultures and backgrounds - why should we eradicate communities because of our own beliefs/majority?

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Social issue: Migrant workers' rights in Singapore

link: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/24/asia/singapore-migrant-workers-intl/index.html

personal stand:
Singaporeans tend to neglect the fact that we are very dependant on migrant workers to build our city. These workers get very little pay for an overwhelming amount of manual labour, and are in constant debt as they had to borrow money back home in order to come here. They are undermined and shortchanged, often afraid to file complaints in fear of repercussions. When they suffer injuries, they choose to suffer in silence in fear of getting sent back to their country with a multitude of debt.

Theme: We should reconsider the employment rights that are given to migrant workers, and raise more awareness about this issue.

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Social Issue: Punishments given to sexual offenders

link: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/nus-senior-lecturer-jailed-for-molesting-undergrad-on-crowded-campus-shuttle

Personal stand: I believe that the punishment of getting jail time and losing his job is not too harsh. When it comes to offences of this nature, we should not be viewing it based on the "extent" of the crime. The fact that he committed an act like that is already deserving of a severe punishment.

but thats just my opinion lah horh

theme: All sexual offenders should be punished

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Social issue: Gender Inequality

Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49552812

Personal stand:
Everyone should be awarded the opportunity and acknowledgment they deserve regardless of gender.

Theme: Equality for everyone

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Social Issue: Cybersecurity
Stand: There needs to be stronger cybersecurity defences when it comes to safeguarding our data.
Theme: We're becoming dangerously over reliant on technology in the modern age

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High volume of cyber attacks in S'pore in past year, mostly ransomware: Report

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SINGAPORE - If your company has suffered a data breach in the past year, it is far from being alone. A recent report by a United States-based cyber-security firm showed that as many as 96 per cent of organisations in Singapore have had at least one breach in the past 12 months due to external cyber attacks.

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Social Issue: Rohingya Crisis

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561

Personal Stand: The xenophobic Burmese government is oppressing their own people because of a different belief.

Universal Theme: We should not drive people away due to their personal beliefs. Instead, we need to build an inclusive society where people can live harmoniously together regardless of race, language or religion.

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Social Issue: Child Labour

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/concerted-effort-required-on-labour-rights-wilmar-on-amnesty-rep-7642954

Personal Stand: I believe that every child should deserve to grow up experiencing proper fun childhood and live like a kid - playing and going to school to learn, instead of being made use of to earn the little money they get from child labour. Even though some governments are doing something about it, it is still not enough as some are even brought to work by their parents, having no other choices to  object.

Theme: Poverty and lack of parents' literacy cause the lack of awareness about the effects of child labour.

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Social Issue: LGBTQ rights

Article: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/feeling-isolated-stressed-and-depressed-more-lgbtq-individuals-seek-mental-health-support

Personal Stand:  I believe that everyone has the right to love who they want to, and they should not be discriminated because of who they love

Theme: Everyone should have the right to love

gay rights!

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1.issue: Discrimination against people with depression

2. I strongly feel that we should not discriminate against depression as it is an invisible war that only the person going through it would be able to comprehend. This discrimination should stop because it can fuel the depression further and cause the individual to spiral further down.

Theme: Everyone is fighting their own battles so we should always be kind to others no matter what.

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One youngster heard voices in his head, another turned to self-harm to relieve her emotional distress. Depression can persist into adulthood if it isn't adequately treated.

(Updated: )

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SINGAPORE: Even in preschool, Jodee Kua was picked on "quite a bit" by her classmates. And it did not take much, like stealing her seat or making fun of her, to make her burst into tears.

"It was easy to just push that button," said Ms Kua, now 21. "Once, I had some chee cheong fun sauce on my face, and it became a joke to the whole class. So I cried."

In primary school, she had self-esteem issues. To cope, she started to cut herself, at the age of 11.

"I didn't know there was such a thing as depression. I didn't know self-harm was a thing ... that it was in a way a problem, and shouldn't be done," she recounted. "To me, it was just cutting."

Studies suggest that depression - the most common mental illness in Singapore - may affect up to 18 per cent of youths here. And if not treated adequately, it has a propensity to persist into adulthood.
THE PAIN 'BECAME APPEALING'
In the documentary Facing Depression, three young Singaporeans opened up about how they found coping with adolescent life difficult, and their struggles with depression, anxiety and self-harming behaviour.

According to the Samaritans of Singapore, the troubled youths who reach out to the organisation cite mental health issues, academic pressure and relationship problems at home and in school as their greatest sources of stress.

This is because of the great amount of time a child spends in both environments, explained senior clinical psychologist Wong Hui Yi, from the Institute of Mental Health's department of child and adolescent psychiatry.

Ms Kua, for example, started feeling the academic pressure at her elite primary school, where expectations were high. She first engaged in self-harm after a poor mathematics test result.

"My mum was like a math genius, so I felt as if I was terrible at this (maths) and wasn't getting any better at it," she said. "It kept spiralling downwards."

Thinking she was stupid, she cut herself as a form of self-discipline. She said:

With every careless mistake I made, I'd inflict pain one time, so that I'd remember not to do it again.

Eventually, it became something she did every time she was stressed. She had so many scars on her hands that she had to hide them from her teachers.

Her self-esteem was so low that she disliked having her photo taken and did not even want to look at herself in the mirror when she brushed her teeth.

At secondary school, she was ostracised because she was always feeling sad after her first relationship failed, when she was 13. And in a girls' school, where "popularity is important", being alone was a "very bad thing".

Regarding such friendship issues, Dr Wong said: "Among the pre-teens and the teens, the peer group becomes so important that they're an excellent source of support, but at the same time they can be a source of much stress."

So it was for Ms Kua, who tried to cope with her depression through exercise and by confiding in a friend. But in her last year of secondary school, self-harm became her form of emotional release.

"It's like how when we get caned, we feel the pain and we don't want to let this happen again," she said. "Subsequently the pain just became appealing."

Children and adolescents who commit self-harm do so for various reasons, noted Dr Wong. For some, it is a way of coping with "very intense psychological pain". She said:

They feel some relief when they inflict physical pain on themselves.

HORMONAL CHANGES
"That's a very unhealthy way of thinking, but to them it's a way of control. They certainly need help."

A typical teenager undergoes a difficult part of life trying to become an adult because it exposes teens to different kinds of life situations they had not experienced before, said The Resilienz Clinic's medical director and consultant psychiatrist Thomas Lee.

"Throwing tantrums or being moody may be one of the ways they cope. But the hormonal changes kind of add to the picture," he added, explaining that these affect how the teens feel and behave.

While the effects of oestrogen and testosterone on the brain are complex and not fully understood by scientists, what is known is that these two hormones can affect one's moods.

For teens who are already facing some life challenges, these fluctuations in hormones and brain chemicals could make them susceptible to depression, said Dr Lee.

In teenager Jane's (not her real name) case, her behaviour started to change at the beginning of Secondary Three last year. She would wake up crying "uncontrollably", said her mother.

Getting her ready for school was a "hassle", and when she reached, she would sometimes hide in the toilet, cry and call her mother to say that she was scared and did not want to be there.

"It was heartbreaking. For the record, she called me eight times within two hours in the morning," said Jane's mother, whose eyes reddened as she related the episode.

At first, she wondered whether her daughter was calling for attention. "But there was never a lack of attention at home because we were so close," she said, describing her 15-year-old as having been "quite emotional" since young.

Jane herself realised something was wrong when she stopped talking and hanging out with her friends, and started losing her appetite and dreading school more and more. "I felt as if I was drowning," she shared.

Sometimes I got better, and it was as if ... I found a log and could float with that. But after that, it was as if another wave came and hit me. It's like a roller-coaster.

While everyone has unhappy days and mood swings, a prolonged and intense mood swing, which may even last for months, could indicate depression, said Dr Lee.
'MY BRAIN BROKE'
"If these changes start to affect the kid's life, academically or his relationship with the peers or parents, then we have to start considering whether this kid is having depression," he added.

Mr Chia Xun An's depression started when he was 10, triggered by an asthmatic episode and having sore eyes, which changed his appearance and affected his self-esteem.

The situation at home did not help. Money was an issue, and for a few years, his family had to live in his maternal grandmother's home. This resulted in frequent arguments among the adults, which took a toll on him.

He had difficulty sleeping and would even hit his head against the wall at night.

"They always say that depression is marked by low mood most of the time," said Mr Chia, now 25.

I tried my best to get rid of it, but unfortunately life had other plans. I really hit rock bottom - I thought I had lost hope forever.

Diagnosed with major depressive disorder, he had to repeat a few years at school. But he worked hard to cope with his emotions, got into a polytechnic at the age of 19 and was discharged from his condition.

"I just wanted to live life ... to be like everybody else and break free from my past," he said. "I was adjusting. I felt that I was finally reaching that sense of normalcy."

In his final semester in 2013, however, things took a turn for the worse. He started seeing scribbles and lines that were not there and hearing voices in his head that kept repeating, "Burn, burn, kill, kill, die."

He had never experienced these symptoms before. "It was terrifying," recalled Mr Chia, who tried to fight off the depression, telling himself he did not want it to happen again.

"But it got worse and worse," he said. "I finally felt a shift in my mind ... My brain broke. I finally lost control."

He dragged a chair to the front of the classroom, sat down and rambled for half an hour. He cannot remember what he said, but because of the relapse, he had to repeat his final year.
DEPRESSION ISN'T TRANSIENT
"Sometimes when things like this happen, you just wish people would be more understanding," he said. "But they didn't really get it, they didn't really see the severity of it or maybe they thought I was bluffing - I don't know."

Ms Kua's turning point also came at polytechnic. With a new environment and new friends, she was feeling happier and her self-harming habit was seemingly a thing of the past - until one day when she started to experience bodily pains.

To handle the pain, she grabbed a penknife off her table without thinking and cut her wrist so hard that it bled profusely.

"The doctor said, 'You were 0.1mm from the artery. A little bit more pressure, and you may not have been here today,'" recalled Ms Kua, who was 18 years old then.

She could not understand why she lost control, since she thought she was happy, had things to strive for and reasons to live. Only then did she seek help for her depression.

Dr Lee noted that many people, including parents, believe that depression or a change in mood "is just something that's transient, or it's some character defect".

But it's not. Depression is very much a medical condition ... which definitely needs treatment.

As for Jane, she has her mother to thank for recognising that she had a problem, sitting her down and discussing why she was constantly feeling frustrated and crying. Together they ruled out cyberbullying, unhappiness at home and boyfriend issues.

The girl said: "I knew there was something wrong - it could be depression or anxiety. But reading about the symptoms and actually feeling them yourself are very different things."

It was not long before she told her mother she wanted help. She was diagnosed with clinical depression and has been getting help since February last year.

Looking back, Jane thinks her illness came about because all her friends went to another class after streaming at the end of Secondary Two and because of anxiety about her Higher Chinese course.

She also thinks the stigma to seeking treatment means "people who are sick aren't getting the help they need". She admitted: "I was very ashamed of having to see a doctor."

A 2010 Singapore Mental Health Study found that the average time taken to seek help for major depressive disorder is four years, and Dr Lee agreed that stigma is "a very big obstacle" here. He added:

(Another) very, very common reason is denial. Parents may think that the kid is just not feeling well ... and hope that the kid will become better.

TREATING DEPRESSION
"The other thing is that, even if they may really want to (get help), they may not know how to or where to get the help."

There are generally two kinds of treatment: Antidepressants and psychotherapy. The latter involves a trained mental health professional exploring the issues that caused the depression in the first place.

The health professional would guide the children towards what they should do when faced with certain kinds of adversities, shared Dr Lee.

This includes teaching stress management skills, such as breathing exercises and muscle relaxation, as well as other coping strategies like sports and reading.

Full recovery is possible, especially with support from the parents and other family members, said Dr Lee. But for some patients, certain setbacks, challenging situations or difficult relationships can trigger their depression again.

"The whole purpose of therapy is to really teach these kids how to handle those situations or similar situations better in future," he added.

For Jane, slime-making and having a pet have helped her cope with her depression. "I had wanted a dog for the longest time ever. And she's a blessing," she said.

"When I'm sad, she lies beside me and falls asleep. And it makes me a little bit happier. She doesn't talk, but she gives me a lot of love."

Ms Kua, on the other hand, has turned to dancing, especially hip-hop.

If she has a bad day, she would be dancing with "a lot of hard energy". But if she is feeling sad, she would "do movements that I could relate that emotion to, and it would leave my body".

"Dance is like the friend I never had - my perfect friend. It doesn't judge; it never leaves you unless you choose not to do it," she said.

She is now working at the IMH as a peer support specialist, helping others with their recovery journey.

Meanwhile, Mr Chia is actively raising awareness about mental illness. He has been volunteering with Over The Rainbow, a charity promoting youth mental wellness, and has self-published a book about his experience with depression.

An undergraduate today, he is working on a second such book. His parents, who did not understand his depression for a long time, have finally accepted him for who he is.

And in doing outreach work in the community, he wants to spread the message that it is a medical condition that can be treated and managed with a support system.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story identified Jane. We have updated the story following the family's subsequent request not to name her. The story's headline has also been changed from the earlier version. Watch this episode of Facing Depression here. The four-part series addresses misconceptions about how depression affects working adults, women, children and the elderly. Read about the demons and stigma working adults must battle, and about the loss, loneliness and killing pain of elderly depression. Where to find help: Institute of Mental Health's Helpline: 6389 2222 Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1800 221 4444 Singapore Association of Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019
"I've been particularly vocal about stigma and discrimination. And by doing that, I hope that things will change," he said. "I hope that in future, individuals with mental health challenges can face it without fear and without being alone."

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Under pressure at home and in school, youths battle depression

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One youngster heard voices in his head, another turned to self-harm to relieve her emotional distress. Depression can persist into adulthood if it isn't adequately treated. (Updated: ) Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via E-Mail SINGAPORE: Even in preschool, Jodee Kua was picked on "quite a bit" by her classmates.

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Social Issue:
Portrayal of minorities in the media

Article:
http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/media-issues/diversity-media/visible-minorities/visible-minorities-entertainment-media

Personal Stand:
Oftentimes when minorities are represented in the media, they are only portrayed as sidekicks, comic relief or confidants. I strongly feel that minorities deserve to see themselves on-screen, not just as side characters to laugh at.

Theme:
Everyone deserves to be represented on-screen fairly. Viewers may be influenced by the hierarchies and power dynamics they are repeatedly exposed to.