Ahead of World Mental Health Day on Oct 10, Singaporean actress Rui En shared that she suffered from depression in the first half of 2024.<\/p>\n
In an Oct 8 article in Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, the 44-year-old recalled sleeping only one to four hours a night during that dark period, which she has since emerged from. <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWhen I woke up, I would feel hopeless and helpless. It was a terrifying feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rui En, whose last Mediacorp drama was the Channel 8 series Oppa, Saranghae! (2023), said that she started sharing mental health-related content on social media around the end of 2024, such as a video about how some people felt low and lonely around the holiday season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At that time, she did not directly state she had suffered from depression as she felt hesitant to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not want to tell everyone right away. I was a little worried about their reaction,\u201d she said. \u201cI had never shown such a vulnerable side of myself before, so I was not used to it. In the past, I built up a very high wall of protection, and sharing something so private made me feel worried and scared. I felt very naked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She detailed to Lianhe Zaobao how several events in the past five years caught her off guard, such as the death of her cat in 2020, her father having a heart attack in New Zealand in 2021, and her leaving her agency Artiste Networks in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were so many ups and downs during that period, and I tried my best to resolve and deal with them, but some things are beyond your control,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The local star also felt uneasy with the decrease in filming output at the time, which made her question her own identity. She said: \u201cBeing an actor is my first and only job. At that time, a question suddenly popped up in my mind: \u2018If you are not an artiste, who are you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
This was a question she could not answer. She elaborated: \u201cThe entertainment industry is like a bubble to me. Actors are protected. We are inside and may know nothing about what is going on outside. So when I have to face the outside world, it is very terrifying. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs for the question of \u2018who am I\u2019, I didn\u2019t have an answer, which was also the main reason for my depression.\u201d<\/p>\n
It took about half a year from the time she realised she was depressed, to the time she \u201cwalked out of it\u201d, she said. It is not known if she sought professional treatment or took medication for her condition.<\/p>\n
During that period, she suffered from insomnia and a poor appetite. She told Lianhe Zaobao: \u201cI felt terrified every minute, and my chest felt tight and painful.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July 2024, Rui En, who is a Christian, signed up for bible school \u201cunder duress\u201d. <\/p>\n
In an Oct 5 Instagram post, she wrote: \u201cI was sinking under the weight of depression and I was desperate. <\/p>\n
\u201cA year later, after being to hell and back, I can tell you that recovery and healing is possible with God. Not overnight, but slowly. Get help. Put one foot in front of the other. Even when it hurts just to breathe. One day, that tightness in your chest will ease and light will start shining in through the cracks in the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She elaborated to Lianhe Zaobao: \u201cI am so grateful to have recovered within six months. Because I understand how it feels and how hard it is, I want to promote mental health awareness and let those who are going through it know they are not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She first openly admitted to suffering from depression in an interview with local content creator Aiken Chia filmed in March.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In June, she also uploaded a video on Instagram with the caption \u201cThe baby steps I took to beat depression\u201d, where she recounted things she did to get out of feeling depressed, such as running and going to the gym. <\/p>\n
She said in the clip: \u201cIt is okay to have to speak to a professional… It is okay to be in therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In addition, she continued producing videos about mental health, interviewing relevant professionals and celebrities. For example, she asked registered counsellor Abigail Lee, the founder of local counselling centre Healing Hearts Centre, some general questions on anxiety, in a video uploaded to Instagram in July.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She told Lianhe Zaobao: \u201cSome netizens read my posts and left comments or private messages thanking me, saying I made them feel less alone. This moved me to tears because I could relate to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July, she started a TikTok account, something she resisted for a long time as she feared online backlash, but her experience on the platform turned out to be \u201cnot as bad\u201d as she imagined.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, Rui En – who won Best Actress twice at the Star Awards and co-sang the 2005 National Day Parade theme song Reach Out For The Skies – chooses to look at her acting hiatus positively. <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThe slower pace of work gives me some breathing space, and I can also learn new things and see the outside world.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is also aiming to find a sense of identity outside of her industry. She asked: \u201cWhen I am gone, how will people remember me? As a skilled actor? As a singer who sang patriotic songs? I may have done many things, but those are not enough for me. I hope I can still help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
National helpline: 1771 (24 hours) \/ 6669-1771 (via WhatsApp)<\/p>\n
Samaritans of Singapore: 1-767 (24 hours) \/ 9151-1767 (24 hours CareText via WhatsApp)<\/p>\n
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019<\/p>\n
Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928<\/p>\n
Chat, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health: 6493-6500\/1<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Helpline (Aware): 1800-777-5555 (weekdays, 10am to 6pm)<\/p>\n
The Seniors Helpline: 1800-555-5555\u00a0(weekdays,\u00a09am to 5pm)<\/p>\n
Tinkle Friend (for primary school-age children): 1800-2744-788<\/p>\n
Touchline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252<\/p>\n
Touch Care Line (for caregivers): 6804-6555<\/p>\n
Counselling and Care Centre: 6536-6366<\/p>\n
We Care Community Services: 3165-8017<\/p>\n
Shan You Counselling Centre: 6741-9293 <\/p>\n
Clarity Singapore: 6757-7990 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of World Mental Health Day on Oct 10, Singaporean actress Rui En shared that she suffered from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-207310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}