SINGAPORE – Local actress Julie Tan made a difficult yet wise decision as she opened up about her mental health struggles on TikTok.
On Feb 20, the actress uploaded a make-up video sharing her story through the app’s subtitle feature. She opens up about self-harm and self-love to stress the importance of kindness and understanding about mental health.
When Tan was younger, she used to hurt herself. In her current line of work, she “can’t afford to have scars”, which led her to resort to biting and slapping herself.
She added that even though it’s been 10 months since she last hurt herself, unfortunately, she still finds it hard to love herself.
In order to cope, Tan would constantly tell herself to “be strong” but there were times when she felt tired and overwhelmed.
In the video, it was obvious how difficult it was for her to talk about it as she covered her face with her hands towards the end.
Tan carried on and admitted that although it is “not the easiest thing to share”, she wants others who are also struggling to know that they’re not alone.
“So let’s be kind to one another. Cause we will never know what’s their story behind those smiles,” she said as the TikTok ended.
We’d like to say that it’s really brave of her to share her story and we admire her courage for doing so – You go, girl!
As many people do struggle with mental health, it’s influential figures like Tan who remind us that it’s all part of being human and it’s not something to be ashamed of.
Especially with the ongoing pandemic, many have been affected by it physically or mentally. It’s become more crucial now to spread kindness and be more understanding.
Last but not least, if you’d like to seek further assistance for your mental health, please feel free to contact the following numbers/ associations:
SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1800-221-4444
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)
Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)
Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
/TISG