Are Singaporeans Breeding Congenital Stress!
How pushing boundaries in small children and teenagers to achieve their peak performance in academics, sports and extra-curricular activities is driving this highly developed island nation on the brink of stress and nervous breakdown. Read on…
I read an article recently by an elderly gentleman, a doctor (psychiatrist) by profession and a citizen of Singapore who according to me had a lot of reasons to vent his ire on the current stressful social scenario that the country is facing. Singapore one of the highly developed nations in the world has been attracting a lot of people to migrate, live and work in the country for their own economic progress and well-being. But at what cost? The gentleman, emphasizes that Singapore is the fourth most stressful country to live in after Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Why one may ask?
Singapore knows that its only resource is human talent. The citizens of Singapore have high expectations from the government and this puts indirect pressure on the common man to perform and do well at all levels. So from the moment, a child is born they are drilled to outperform and excel at everything they do, not being mindful of a child’s interests, hobbies and hidden talent that needs to be tapped by loving and caring teachers and parents. In such situation stress is inborn, labelling it as congenital! This has given an alarming rise to psychiatric conditions and psychosomatic illnesses among the youth of Singapore and the doctor is at a loss to find a cure for them.
Singapore, a small island nation in the Southeast Asia region was a country that was easier to migrate to and cheaper to live in like Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea, but after World War II, Singapore’s infrastructure was completely damaged, there was a shortage of food, malnutrition, disease and rampant violence and crime were on the rise.
After severing ties with Malaysia, Singapore became independent declaring itself as the Republic of Singapore on August 9th, 1946. Several major reforms were introduced by the newly elected, First Prime Minister of Singapore and the newly formed government which led to the economic progress of the country. Poverty and unemployment were removed which brought all-around prosperity to this nation.
Property prices, car prices, fuel costs, education and medical costs are sky-high in Singapore but does it not give an individual the right to live the life that he chooses instead of owning expensive houses, and cars and living a luxurious lifestyle?
Being a small island, they have very little land and on weekends everybody likes to crowd around malls and small parks as they don’t have a large expanse of natural surroundings like other western countries.
As a popular saying goes, ‘In Rome do as the Romans do.’ So what are the positive aspects of living in Singapore?
Singapore has a very efficient governing body and the civil service works fast and responsibly. They have a zero-tolerance for corruption as they are confident in the integrity of the government. The crime rate is also very low as the city feels safe for women to travel or walk back home safely at even 3 a.m in the morning. The city is very clean and well maintained. Standards of medical services are very high and also efficient.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is very well regulated and the financial sector is kept under scrutiny and strict vigilance, so there are no financial scams! Every individual receives sound financial advice to stay out of bankruptcy.
A small nation with a manageable population has come this far after the ravages of World War II only through hard work, where meritocracy does not have any restrictions and an individual can get as high as he wants through his own potential and hard work, but at the cost of the younger generation’s mental and physical health. Young children and teenagers are pushed to perform well in academics, sports and other extra-curricular activities to get ahead of others. They are drilled to over-perform and excel. Long hours in school, tuition classes along with dance, art classes and many more. Children are drained by the end of the day with no time to play, read or just be themselves and the meaning of childhood is lost in this mindless rat race for success and wealth.
There’s a high level of competition not with themselves but with their peers and classmates. This puts small children of an impressionable age under a lot of stress and unwanted tension. There is no room for mistakes only perfection. Children are not allowed to be themselves. Everything works with clockwork precision and super efficiency.
There are plenty of opportunities for people who migrate to Singapore, to live and work there for a living and become wealthy and successful through sheer dint of hard work, dedication, commitment and merit. But once they get married and have children of their own, these children sadly have to pay a heavy price to fulfil the expectations of a Singaporean society. This toxic environment has led to a steady decline in the mental and physical well-being of young children and the youth of this economically sound and thriving nation. Do we have a solution for this? The answer is Yes, by adopting a middle path of minimalist living and cutting costs an individual can live a decent lifestyle in Singapore which may not be acceptable to many but the peace of mind that an individual achieves is priceless!
The elderly doctor who receives several patients every month for counselling and some of his patients are even administered prescription drugs rues the fact that he is treating the younger generation to carry the legacy of the nation forward. How is this possible?
Finally, Singapore is a lively nation with a vibrant culture and strong economy and work ethics. The only advice that the elderly doctor has to people who are interested in immigrating and working in Singapore is that be prepared to do so at the cost of their own children’s mental and physical health.
