More young people seek help for depression

Posted on January 28, 2015

SINGAPORE - Depression is hitting young people hard, and a growing number are choosing to seek help.

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) helped 600 people aged 20 to 29 last year, compared with 550 the year before. Similarly, the National University Hospital treated about 120 people aged 19 to 29 last year, up from 45 in 2013.

Doctors say it is encouraging that more young adults are coming forward because early treatment helps prevent relapses and, in severe cases, suicides.

Latest figures from help group the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) show the age range most at risk of suicide is 20 to 29. There were 83 suicides in this range in 2013, almost double the figure from two years earlier.

Doctors and counsellors say those in the prime of their lives are finding it hard to bear up under the pressure of increasing competition in the workplace, keeping up with the material success of their peers as well as gaining independence quickly.

"Compared to the past, there is an increasing pressure to attain independence more quickly by renting a space of their own or relocating overseas for work," said Dr Mok Yee Ming, head of the Mood Disorder Unit at IMH.


Category(s):Depression, Teenage Issues

Source material from Asia One