Recent studies have pointed to an increase in mental health issues globally and in Singapore. Find out how the government is implementing a national mental healthcare strategy, consolidating and strengthening its resources at various levels of care.
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00:00It's the watchword of the modern age.
00:02We're talking about raising mental health measures
00:05close to mental health conditions.
00:06The government is making mental health and well-being
00:09a key priority in our national agenda.
00:13There's no health without mental health.
00:15But what is the mental health situation in Singapore?
00:17And how are we tackling it?
00:19To frame the discussion, let's go back to a pivotal moment
00:22when the mental well-being of the country was in the spotlight.
00:25The COVID-19 pandemic.
00:28After the circuit breaker was introduced,
00:30we observed an increase in the utilisation of mental health services.
00:34It was such a concern that the COVID-19 Mental Wellness Task Force
00:38was started by the Health Ministry.
00:40It eventually became the Inter-Agency Task Force
00:42on Mental Health and Well-Being,
00:44chaired by Dr. Jarno Puttacherry.
00:46As we went through COVID,
00:48we learned a lot of lessons.
00:49What works, what doesn't work?
00:50How do people react?
00:51How do people behave?
00:52When COVID passed,
00:53we had already had this idea about restrategising around mental health.
00:57The rise in mental health issues has also coincided
01:00with the seismic growth of smartphones and social media.
01:03Gaming addiction, bullying or sense of self-worth.
01:06These causes of mental health disorders
01:08have been amplified by digital technologies and social media.
01:12A recent National Youth Mental Health Study
01:14said one in three youth in Singapore
01:17have experienced poor mental health.
01:19Research around the world has also found
01:21that adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media
01:25may be at heightened risk for mental health problems,
01:28particularly mood and anxiety disorders.
01:31So what are we doing about it?
01:34In Singapore, schools are banning smartphones
01:36to get students to talk to their friends.
01:39Active ageing centres provide a space for seniors to socialise.
01:43There are plans to increase the number of psychiatrists and psychologists.
01:47A new mental health helpline will start in 2025.
01:51A National Mental Health Competency Training Framework
01:54will train professionals and volunteers
01:56to better communicate and help those in distress.
01:59It's like a no-wrong-door policy.
02:01That it shouldn't matter where you go to,
02:03as long as it's someone you have the comfort with.
02:06For some people, that'll be a social worker,
02:09someone in a social service agency,
02:11could be a general practitioner, could be a polyclinic,
02:12could be a counsellor, could be a colleague at work.
02:15Many factors contribute to our mental health.
02:18Our environment and living conditions.
02:21Genetics.
02:22Whether we have experienced some sort of trauma.
02:25Smartphones and life in a busy city can build walls between us.
02:29But rather than breaking down these walls,
02:31we can look for pathways and spaces to reach out and rebuild connections.
02:36And it is increasingly apparent that connections are a big part of the solution.
02:41So our approach to mental health should not be a you thing,
02:44but an us.