797 - How to Talk to Someone Who's Suicidal (Without Making It Worse) ft Charlene Heng

In Singapore, there is an average of one suicide death per day – and yet most of us still don’t know how to talk about it. Charlene Heng, Deputy Director at SOS Academy, Samaritans of Singapore, gets real about suicide in Singapore – the stats, the stigma, and why asking the suicide question doesn't make things worse. Whether you're worried about a friend or struggling yourself, we hope you find this helpful.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 (𝙈𝙊𝙃)
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵:
𝘪. 𝘚𝘖𝘚’𝘴 24-𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 1767, 𝘰𝘳 24-𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘢𝘵 9151 1767 (𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘈𝘱𝘱)
𝘪𝘪. 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 1771, 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦’𝘴 24/7 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 | https://yahlahbut.short.gy/CaringForLife

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

• Terence: What LENS is Actually inside a Vintage Photo Booth?
• Haresh: Lamine Yamal's FIRST career hat-trick!
• Charlene: Tomorrow | Official Trailer

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀!
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𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 – "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁”
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(00:00) Intro

(00:01:02) Charlene's Personal Story And Journey Into Social Work

(00:02:43) What Charlene Does At SOS

(00:03:31) Has Talking About Suicide Gotten Easier Over The Years?

(00:05:22) Busting The Myth: Asking About Suicide Doesn't Trigger It

(00:07:03) Suicide Statistics In Singapore

(00:09:13) Why Men Have Higher Suicide Rates

(00:11:55) SOS Receives 5,000 Calls Every Month

(00:13:29) Training Volunteers And Six Hours On The Ledge

(00:15:37) What Callers Really Need When They Reach Out

(00:17:01) The Emotions That Drive Suicidal Ideation

(00:19:25) Who's Calling: Mostly Teenagers

(00:20:48) Assessing Risk Through Text Messages

(00:21:35) Anonymity And When Emergency Services Step In

(00:23:41) Separating Suicide From Mental Health Stigma

(00:27:46) Training Volunteers To Listen Without Judgment

(00:29:41) Beyond Empathy: Validation And Affirmation

(00:30:38) Three Steps To Approach Someone At Risk

(00:33:30) Using The Right Language Around Suicide

(00:35:47) Cultural Barriers And Stigma Around Suicide In Singapore

(00:37:45) Why Everyone Should Take A Suicide First Aid Course

(00:40:24) Warning Signs That Are Easy To Miss

(00:41:52) Suicide As A Systemic, Not Individual, Problem

(00:43:47) How Volunteers Protect Their Own Mental Health

(00:47:00) What Gives Charlene Hope For The Future

(00:48:11) Resources And Helplines

(00:49:39) One Shiok Thing

(00:57:03) Post-Interview Reflection

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲!
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