Monday, January 16, 2012
Attended a rather informative volunteer orientation at IMH on Saturday, 14-01-2012. Rules for volunteers:
#1: NEVER disclose any information about the patients in the hospital (not even the initials)
#2. NEVER make promises. (As volunteers, you are assigned by the hospital to different duties. You have no idea who you will be interacting with the next week. Plus, you might need to attend to some unprecedented events in your work/ school. )
#3. NEVER bring in foreign food without the hospital's permission
#4. NEVER lend money to the patients
#5. NEVER threaten or challenge the patients (you are there to help, not to create more troubles)
#6. ALERT or NOTIFY the staff if you are unsure of anything (don't try to be a smart alec [ooo... i miss this phrase]) or if the patient's becoming too disruptive or aggresive.
Interesting figures:
Mental health:
MDD (major depressive disorder) - 1 in 16
Alcohol abuse - 1 in 29 (I think...)
OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) - 1 in 33
Who do Singaporeans approach when they have mental illness?
22.1% - Psychiatrist (still too little)
...
and about 12% approach the dang-gi (乩童) = they are messengers of gods [possessed by gods]
So, some Singaporeans have strong conviction. That's alright, but if all the chanting, water with burned amulet, etc do not work, please consult a doctor. Some of the symptoms experienced by some people are in fact early symptoms of certain illness (e.g. cancer ).
ok.... I... have a different story to tell~~~,
I have some weird symptoms in secondary 1. My parents brought me to the hospital whenever I complained about pain on my arms, legs, chests... ok...basically everywhere. However, the test result always came out negative, so I think the doctor was rather pissed with me. He referred me to a psychiatrist and I was diagnosed as mentally healthy. (that made matter worse) So, I was the "healthy" individual that hogged every department available in the hospital.
My mom didn't give up and brought me to more doctors, only to be diagnosed with mild hypertension (which was earlier diagnosed in SGH). She's fine and HEALTHY! That's it.
Soon, I was greeted with that rather unwelcoming face/ attitude of medical workers. That was when I actually detested doctors and anything related to medicine."I would rather stay in my classroom writing, talking, help out at my mom's shop than to lie about what I am suffering >:(" [That was childish but one should forgive a "sick" and frustrated sec one girl for having that kind of emotion] = ironically, I actually wanted to pursue medicine after this incident :)))
However, my condition deteriorated over the next few months. My limbs gave way and everything was just horrible. Sometimes, I couldn't breathe properly and swallowed blood a couple of times. I felt as though I was suffering a debilitating disease. "You look dead, literally dead" - that was my grandma's comment when I asked her how I looked in sec 1.
My parents finally turned to the dang gi for help. (They did not believe in such stuff, esp my mom) I went to 2, the first one did not help at all. The 2nd one worked miracle. I swear it's a miracle. My entire family can attest to that. I was supposedly possessed by an extremely evil child. I have no idea how. And tada... I am all fine now. I am technically very vulnerable to such evil spirits, and have those 阴阳眼 (ie I am able to see ghosts). So, I have plenty of amulets with me.
However, I would like to search the real cause and cure of my puzzling episode. ~~~
[There must be an explanation and cure for everything (ok... almost everything), they are just yet to be discovered]
10:03 AM By jov
