We asked the public to share their mental health journeys. These are their stories.

Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

Recovery is possible

I have a twin sister. I guess it’s normal for siblings to be compared to one-another, but being genetically identical to another person means people find the comparisons even more…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

I’m grateful for every day I live

I just want to start by saying: To students who struggle with mental issues, I believe that keeping a gratitude journal, documenting every happy thought/action done to or from you…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

Every day is a new battle and victory

I cannot be too sure how it began but it feels like it has been a long time. It might have begun when I was 12 and felt the full…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

It is very treatable

Surfing the web in Singapore, where I emigrated with my family from the UK ten years ago, I never imagined I would come across a video of my primary school.…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

The loneliness is grappling

Girls are toxic, well some at least, I try to fit in but they just shut me out. They pretend that I am not there and I pretend that I…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

I was abused by my father

I was abused by my father when I was younger; it lasted until I was 16. Although I came clean about it to my parents 3 years ago, they expect…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

It still hurts me so deeply inside

Recently I went to visit a Chinese Medicine doctor to see if she could help me with conceiving. She came highly recommended by a friend who successfully and easily conceived…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

Keep fighting for yourself

I grew up without a dad during my early childhood. I often thought to myself that I could never make a mistake and when I did I would “punish” myself…
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Personal Stories
July 4, 2019

I will get better

It’s so unfair. I have always been a hardworking student who strives to do my best to receive recognition from my family. My friends were envious of me because my…
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Personal Stories
March 29, 2019

Keep fighting

“What if there is a tumour growing in my brain?” “What if someone comes into my house and murders my family?” “Do my friends genuinely care about me or are…
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Personal Stories
February 17, 2019

I’m asking for respect

I've spoken to my teachers and my school counsellor before, and I've vented to my friends about my mother specifically. She's the one person in my life whom I just…
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Personal Stories
February 14, 2019

I’m fighting it all the time

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety around 2 years ago. But truthfully I probably have been struggling with it for about 8 years now. Growing up, I used to…
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Personal Stories
February 12, 2019

I feel like I’m slowly drowning

Crying. Seems like a normal way a person would react when they're too upset, not in the best mood or feeling super stressed out. Well, there's millions of reason why…
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Personal Stories
February 9, 2019

I don’t know how long I can last

I first started having thoughts of depression when I was 13. I might be young, too young to even have it, but the dark thoughts that haunt me everyday are…
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Personal Stories
February 7, 2019

The hardest part was self-stigma

The first time psychosis happened to me was in 2013. I was a graduate student then, back in Singapore for a short holiday. I was quiet and withdrawn. But no…
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Personal Stories
February 4, 2019

Tomorrow is worth fighting for

I was 21. I didn't feel 21 though. I felt like someone past a hundred, living out the years that I didn't deserve because somewhere, somehow, I was wondering why…
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Personal Stories
January 29, 2019

Trust your instincts

Ever since primary school I have had the thoughts of ending my life, because my parents fight every single day and I just felt like nobody was interested to listen…
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Personal Stories
January 27, 2019

I don’t think they’d care

Sometimes I feel like I am not worthy to share my experiences with others because people go through their own challenges, but it gets hard when people pour themselves to…
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Personal Stories
January 25, 2019

Every day is a struggle

Every day is a struggle. I was diagnosed with depression a year ago, and every day has been a struggle since then. Waking up is difficult. Trying to be a…
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Personal Stories
January 23, 2019

I’m a burden afterall, right?

I’ve always been pressured to get good grades. Multiple tuition teachers have hurled insults like “stupid” & “useless” at me countless of times, with a tuition teacher throwing a pile…
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Personal Stories
January 21, 2019

I knew I needed help

It all began when puberty struck me and sensitivity crept into my life. In Primary school, my sensitivity got a hold of me and I started to break down almost…
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Personal Stories
January 20, 2019

I was severely bullied

Since the age of 12, I have been experiencing suicidal thoughts and anxiety. I was severely bullied in Primary 6 but now I'm still recovering. I feel like a jar,…
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Personal Stories
January 16, 2019

It makes us feel like animals

Being diagnosed with a mental disorder is never easy to accept, but being stigmatized after your friends and colleagues get to know you're "crazy" is even worse. It hurts everytime…
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Personal Stories
January 14, 2019

I feel like jumping down the school building

To my secondary counsellor who took my thoughts seriously. Thank you. Thank you for taking it seriously enough to call down professionals from the Institute of Mental Health to assess…
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Personal Stories
January 11, 2019

We should not ignore or avoid

I don't have any mental health problems but the lowest I have felt was when a loved one passed away and I was grieving for a few years. This was…
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Personal Stories
January 10, 2019

Healing is not linear

Mental struggle is real Having witnessed a friend’s mum commit suicide at the age of eleven and two uncles who lost their lives to suicide, one in Institute of Mental…
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Personal Stories
January 9, 2019

The only way is up

I’ve been suffering from Bipolar Disorder since I was 11. Misdiagnosed as having clinical depression at 17, my mother discouraged me from taking antidepressants as she thought it was against…
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Personal Stories
January 3, 2019

Community is important

I believe that your mental health has a lot to do with the community of people around you. I developed an eating disorder at 11 years old, a year after…
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Personal Stories
January 2, 2019

Nobody knows I am a shipwreck

When I was 17, I was raped and I never told a single soul about it. I thought by ignoring it, I would somehow move on and get over it.…
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Personal Stories
December 30, 2018

I felt alone even though my loved ones were just a call away

I was embarrassed to tell people about my self doubt and insecurity. Almost everyday, I would scroll through social media and look at girls to see how pretty they look…
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Personal Stories
December 24, 2018

Christmas Was Not Always Merry For Me

Christmas was not always merry for me. 8 years with eating disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder, Christmas was an awkward, depressing and lonely time to me. I…
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Personal Stories
December 19, 2018

It’s difficult to explain

I used to have severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There is a huge misconception that OCD is all about making sure that everything is squeaky clean. This is not true.…
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Personal Stories
December 16, 2018

Not everyone is kind

I still keep my old expired antidepressants in my drawer as a reminder to stay where the light is. I was 14 when I was diagnosed with clinical depression and…
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Personal Stories
December 13, 2018

Healing Takes Time

Word of advice, if you’re suffering because of your mental health, please get help. I started showing signs of clinical depression and anxiety at the age of 13, I had…
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Personal Stories
December 6, 2018

Things never got easier, I just got stronger.

I’ve been struggling with self- harm for 9 years. I don’t even know if I am or was ever depressed. Because I never could afford the money to see a…
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Personal Stories
December 2, 2018

Thankfully I found a way to seek help without my parents consent

When I was 10, I started hating going to school and would pretend that I was sick so my parents would bring me back home and I didn’t have to…
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Personal Stories
November 29, 2018

I was afraid of telling others

I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for over a year. Throughout the year, I was afraid of telling others about my condition as I am aware of how…
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Personal Stories
November 24, 2018

Good things come to those who wait

I was 15 and suicidal. Depression had taken away my ability to communicate and anxiety had gotten the best of me. I hadn’t been able to go to school for…
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Personal Stories
November 22, 2018

Mental health should not be taken lightly

I was gossiped about. People hated me. Others threatened me on social media; my own friends started leaving me. That was the point where my life just dipped to its…
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Personal Stories
November 20, 2018

I had unfulfilled dreams to pursue

I attempted suicide due to the stress that I experienced when I was in junior college. That was my breaking point from bottling up my emotional struggle that I've had…
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Personal Stories
November 17, 2018

This illness has affected my whole life

I was recently diagnosed with a mental illness called Cyclothymia. Cyclothymia is a rare mental illness which affects only 1% of the population. It is when one experiences a period…
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Personal Stories
November 13, 2018

I fell back into depression

I was like you many years ago when I was trying to survive through university. I was bent on getting no less than first class honours, determined that it would…
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Personal Stories
November 10, 2018

New lease of life

As I lay in bed today, I can't thank God enough for giving me the strength and the will to pull through what I thought I couldn't. First and foremost,…
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Personal Stories
November 6, 2018

I feel so helpless

My girlfriend is having a relapse. She has paranoid schizophrenia. Being gay, our asian parents do not recognize the fact that we are together. It’s really tough especially when they…
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Personal Stories
November 3, 2018

It’s an ongoing battle

When I was 11, my parents started to quarrel a lot, they were heading towards a divorce. My father blamed the church for taking my mum away from the family.…
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Personal Stories
October 30, 2018

I don’t like who I am

Raising up my hand to answer questions in school was always scary for me. Terrifying, even. I thought I was just shy, and so did everyone else. I’m 18 now,…
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Personal Stories
October 27, 2018

I’m in one of my darkest moments

Mental health is something that on first thought people don’t think too much about. But mental wellness, that’s something that is relevant to everyone. As for me, my mental health…
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Personal Stories
October 23, 2018

I’m still afraid to seek proper help

When I was really down at age 15, I didn't know what to do and who to turn to. I soon resorted to self-harm. Others may see it as suicide…
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Personal Stories
October 20, 2018

My parents are still in denial

Since I was young, I've always been an escapist. I would always close my eyes and sleep so that I would lucid dream. In those dreams I would abuse and…
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Personal Stories
October 16, 2018

I struggled with self-confidence

When I was growing up (and even now) I struggled with self-confidence. I was never the pretty one nor the smart one in my circle of friends - I was…
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Personal Stories
October 13, 2018

I lost sight

In the dark abyss, I kept falling. There was no life line. I was drowning. I always thought suicidal thoughts were normal; they would drown me day and night. Tears…
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Personal Stories
October 7, 2018

My beautiful Mum ended her life

Words are hard to write, and hard to say. They’re hard because 14 years ago (that’s half of my life) my best friend, my beautiful Mum, ended her life. I…
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Personal Stories
October 4, 2018

My first encounter

My first encounter with self harm was in primary school. Since then, cutting had been the only way for me to deal with stress. I tried drinking and smoking, but…
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Personal Stories
September 30, 2018

My wish for new mums

I was diagnosed late with postpartum anxiety and depression because no one knew how to help me.After the initial elation of an almost perfect delivery, everything went downhill. I couldn't…
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Personal Stories
September 27, 2018

Since the age of 11

Since the age of 11, I've attempted suicide countless times. What were the reasons? What caused me to be this way? I don't know either. My family think I'm crazy;…
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Personal Stories
September 23, 2018

We are human too

Ever since I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), I feel that I have not been treated like a human being. I feel like…
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Personal Stories
September 19, 2018

I was crumbling and buckling

Earlier this year, I was hit hard with the realisation that I would have to do my O-levels this year. I had taken a break year last year due to…
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Personal Stories
September 15, 2018

Everything was in turmoil

Back in 2015, I was diagnosed with depression by a family doctor. Believe me, I was in disbelief.As mental health was shunned upon, I remained silent about it.I partially believed…
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SMHFF-Personal-Stories-04 Personal Stories
September 12, 2018

More than a diagnosis

I was 18 when I finally clued in that something was wrong. My hands had forgotten how to be hands - instead they shook. I couldn’t breathe, often I ran…
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Personal Stories
September 9, 2018

Break the cycle

Something that no one sharing about mental health wants to talk about is how isolating it can be. They try to make it feel as though there is always going…
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Personal Stories
September 4, 2018

I’ve been really worried for her mental health

Ever since my grandfather passed away 3 years ago, my grandmother has found it very hard to adjust to her life without him. She’s 88 this year, lives alone and…
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Personal Stories
August 31, 2018

Strength to stand back up again

I was 15. My parents were scheduled to meet with my high school principal the next morning. They were going to receive the news that I'd be repeating another year…
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