Mr Tan Mui Huat suffers from severe depression. He is highly reliant on medication and injections to stabilize his condition. As he is living by himself, whenever he misses his medication, he will feel uncontrollably vexed and is easily agitated, causing his family members, staff and volunteers to keep a distance from him. When concerned people tried to visit him at his place, he will glare at them fiercely and lash out on them. He felt that life was meaningless and purposeless and he had no interest in anything. He resorted to public vandalism to vent his frustration and anger, hence resulting in his arrest. He deemed the world as his enemy and no one understood him. No one was able to communicate with him, with the exception of an employee in Fei Yue. One day, he attempted suicide. Fortunately, he was discovered in time by Fei Yue employees and was rushed to the hospital.
Fei Yue staff and volunteers continued to visit him frequently and pass by his house whenever they could to ensure that he is physically and emotionally well and stable. Mr. Tan’s neighbor is also one of our Fei Yue members, and kindly agreed to help us keep tabs on Mr. Tan’s wellbeing and movements. Through communicating with Mr. Tan, we tried to understand his inner struggles and emotional dilemma. The staff at the centre near his home also made sure that his medications and injections were taken regularly.
Gradually, he became more and more accepting towards being in a crowd and participating in our centre’s activities. His speech and mannerism are no longer aggressive. He often willingly oblige to lending his help in the centre and even initiates to help at times, such as, in the moving of things and cutting of fruits. Occasionally, during our interaction with him, he would ask questions regarding the meaning of life and death and things that troubled him. However, as compared to the past, he is definitely more willing to share, and listen to the opinions of others. Thankfully, we also noticed that he now cares for his own mental and emotional wellbeing.
