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According to Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) in 2019, 2 out of 3 suicides recorded in Singapore were males. Not wanting to appear weak or wishing to be a burden to anyone, as well as stigma in society, men are pressured to suffer on their own and in silence. In our talk, Egan from Calm Collective speaks with Lino Felix and Ron Yap about: how they've sought professional help for their mental health, their experience as mental health advocates, and how we might encourage more men to be comfortable with opening up and taking that first step towards help.
Panellists:
Egan Hwan With a background in global charities such as WWF and Save The Children, Egan Hwan is focused on social development and sustainability. Formerly a humanitarian for seven years, Egan was dedicated to setting up counselling platforms to provide psychosocial aid for affected communities in the U.S, Haiti, Philippines, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Seeing how the vulnerable are often deprioritized in fast-growing economies, he has made his mission to help close the socio-equity gap by fixing social issues one step at a time. He is now at WWF in the Global Partnerships team driving the corporate sustainability agenda for positive environmental impact. Egan is also a grassroots volunteer for the People’s Association by night. |
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Lino Felix A father with 2 sons, Lino’s mental health journey began when he was in his early teens, believing that self-harm was a norm. After falling ill in early 2016, losing his job and getting cheated of hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment, he wanted to jump. What stopped him was remembering his children and seeing their names tattooed on his arms. He threw himself back and decided to see a doctor. He was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Major Anxiety Disorder. Today, Lino is an advocate for mental health, works at Club HEAL, an organisation that aims to assist and empower persons with mental health conditions, and is active in sharing his mental health journey with many. |
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Ron Yap A survivor of OCD and anxiety, Ron manages @mentalhealthceo, a page dedicated to spreading information about the symptoms of different mental illnesses and how to destigmatize them. He is also trained in CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) and uses his page to give actionable info on how to use tools from therapeutic modalities for self-help purposes. |