Health Promotion Board launches New Mental Health initiatives to help Youth Bounce Back Stronger from Life's Challenges

President's Challenge 2019 to focus on mental health issues, Singapore News The President's Challenge, an annual community outreach and fund-raising campaign, will centre on helping those with mental health issues next year, while continuing its support for a broad range of social causes, said President Halimah Yacob yesterday. The President's Challenge 2019 will be launched early next year. "I hope that by placing more emphasis on people with mental health issues, we can raise greater awareness of their needs and we can better support them in their journey of recovery and reintegration," said Madam Halimah in her opening address at the first Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates held at The Grassroots Club in Ang Mo Kio.

Stress Management While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control. Why is it so important to manage stress? If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress.

Who's CHAT Our full name is "Community Health Assessment Team", and we've been helping and supporting young people with mental health concerns since 2009. CHAT is a national outreach and mental health check programme under the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). You can think of us as Singapore's "AAA" battery for youth mental health. Essentially, we are a group of healthcare professionals dedicated to promote:

Active ageing programmes Active ageing programmes (AAPs) encourage seniors to stay active, healthy and socially engaged. Seniors can join these programmes that are located in their neighbourhood. Sweat it out in group exercise sessions Silver Ribbon (Singapore) - Advocacy - 1st Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates Introduction Since launched by Former President of Singapore Mr S R Nathan on 4th February 2006, Silver Ribbon (Singapore), a non-profit organisation, has been working closely with its policymakers, government agencies, grassroots organisations, school institutions, religious groups, media, local & overseas mental health organisations, consumers and caregivers, etc, to combat mental health stigma and encourage early help through innovative means. This year, with the support of Lundbeck, Silver Ribbon (Singapore) is pleased to host the 1st Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates to: We are pleased to share that 23 local and 18 overseas speakers from 14 countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan, Thailand and United States have accepted our invitation to impart their knowledge and skills at this summit. Summit Programme

More teens in Singapore seeking help at IMH for school stress , Education News SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - More teenagers from top schools are seeking help at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for school-related stress. IMH said that stress-related, anxiety and depressive disorders are common conditions seen at its Child Guidance Clinics, which treat children aged six to 18. The clinics saw an average of about 2,400 new cases every year from 2012 to 2017. Since IMH does not track the causes of the disorders, it does not have statistics on cases related to school stress. However, Dr Lim Choon Guan, senior consultant and deputy chief of IMH's department of developmental psychiatry, said: "Over the past few years, I have seen more teenagers in our clinic who are from top schools and report experiencing school-related stress." Replying to The New Paper's queries, Dr Lim said this trend does not necessarily mean more youth are feeling stressed about their studies but suggests they are more willing to seek help.

Parliament: New measures to boost mental health in the community, Politics News SINGAPORE - Frontline staff from government agencies, including the police, will be trained to spot and respond to mental health cases in the community. Social service and community agencies will also receive basic training to identify and respond to people with mental health issues, and refer them to the Agency for Integrated Care for help. These are among the objectives to boost community mental health care that wereannounced in Parliament on Thursday (March 9) by Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor. More people in Singapore struggling with alcohol abuse, but seeking help earlier: Study, Health News SINGAPORE - A mental health study has shown that while alcohol abuse is a growing problem here, sufferers have been seeking help earlier. The second Singapore Mental Health Study, conducted in 2016, found that one in 24 people struggled with the problem in their lifetime, or 4.1 per cent of the population. This is up from one in 32 people in the landmark study done in 2010. Symptoms include recurrent alcohol use that affects obligations at work, school, or home. But sufferers also sought treatment earlier – the median number of years they delayed treatment in 2016 was four years, down from 13 years in 2010. The results released on Tuesday (Dec 11) also showed that a smaller proportion, or 0.5 per cent of the population, suffered from alcohol dependence.

A hyper-competitive culture is breeding severe test anxiety among many students SINGAPORE: Xiao Jia*, 12, came to us as she could no longer cope with an intense fear of the upcoming Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). She had set out to score more than an aggregate of 250 and didn’t want to disappoint her parents. A plan of getting into her choice school, excelling later at the O and A-Levels, getting into her choice university course, and eventually securing a good job all hinged on doing well in this first national exam. Her fears are not uncommon among her peers, albeit of varying degrees. TODAY Online - Peer support programme initiated for mental health patients People who have recovered from mental health issues will soon be roped in to share their personal experiences and offer advice to patients as part of a new national framework, Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin announced yesterday. In a bid to break the stigma associated with mental illnesses and strengthen the support for such patients, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) are co-developing this initiative, where a pool of former patients may be “peer specialists” to those who need a listening ear. These specialists will be hired on a full-time basis to work in IMH, NCSS or the VWOs. This initiative also expands on the existing Peers 4Rs Programme under the IMH’s Early Psychosis Intervention Programme, where recovered patients volunteer part-time to be “buddies” to their peers. Source: TODAY Online