01/05/2026
12 years ago, a relative in my family passed on by su***de.
At the time, my parents forbade me from speaking about it. He was an estranged family member. And just like that, the topic was quietly erased. ๐ถ
Su***de remains one of the most uncomfortable conversations and perhaps thatโs exactly why we need to talk about it more.
According to Samaritans of Singapore, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐จ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐.
And these are only the reported cases. Many more struggle in silence. โจโจPeople with thoughts of su***de is estimated to be ๐% ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฅ๐ช๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ which brings it to a staggering number of 301,850 individuals in SG.
As a counsellor-in-training, I recently attended a 2-day ๐ผ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ (๐ผ๐๐๐๐) workshop.
Here are ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ:
โ๏ธ ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐.
We hesitate to ask directly about su***de for fear of โputting ideasโ into someoneโs mind.
But the training reinforced this: ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ .
โ๏ธ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ โ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉโ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐
Itโs about being present, attuned and connected- meeting the person where they are, so they donโt feel alone in that moment.
โ๏ธ ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐
Whether youโre a colleague, friend or family member- showing up, listening and staying with someone in their darkest moments can be life-saving.
Perhaps the silence many of us grew up with is something we can begin to change.
Special thanks to Edmurn & Jansen who facilitated the workshop. If you know of anyone with su***de thoughts, reach out to a 24/7 crisis hotline with ๐ 1767.
