Story of a boy who died young
Excerpt frm straits time (today)
April 20, 2006
JC STUDENT SUICIDE
Don't fault sex education, depression to blame: experts
Psychiatrists say it was likely boy was suffering from deep depression
By Liaw Wy-Cin
DEPRESSION was to blame for the suicide of the junior college student last month, said psychiatrists, who added that the fault did not lie with sex education in schools.
On Tuesday, State Coroner Tan Boon Heng recorded a verdict of suicide on the 18-year-old boy, who jumped to his death last month because he believed his penis was too small.
Body dysmorphic disorder
THE junior college student who committed suicide because he felt his private parts were too small could have been suffering from an illness known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
In a letter to The Straits Times yesterday, Dr Ang Yong Guan, chairman of the two-year-old Action Group for Mental Illness, said BDD is a recognised psychological condition. Sufferers are so convinced there is something wrong with their bodies that they become severely stressed and depressed, and cannot function normally.
Dr Ang, 51, a psychiatrist in private practice, said that BDD is usually accompanied by suicidal thoughts or attempts. He cited an American study of 30 BDD sufferers, whose anxieties focused variously on their hair, noses, skin, eyes, breasts and penises. Of these 30 cases, 29 per cent had attempted suicide at least once.
Dr Ang added that 'because of its association with depression and hence, suicide, early diagnosis and intervention is crucial in the management of BDD'.
BDD is actually caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is not detectable through routine procedures like blood tests or brain scans.
It is therefore important to note the symptoms. Sufferers constantly talk about the perceived defect, lose concentration, sleep and appetite, suffer low moods, social withdrawal and a general change in behaviour.
But once diagnosed, medication and intensive individual psychotherapy can bring about a full recovery, Dr Ang said.
State Coroner Tan said the case demonstrated how easily young people fall victim to 'junk information' and recommended that the Education Ministry look into the sex education programme in schools.
But psychiatrists told The Straits Times yesterday that it was a mistake to point the finger at the education system, as the boy was probably suffering from deep-seated depression.
The boy, who cannot be named, had cited his perceived sexual inadequacies as the reason for killing himself in a suicide note addressed to his girlfriend and family.
But according to investigation reports, the second-year JC student had a history of depression stemming from stress relating to his studies.
He first sought treatment for exam-related stress in November 2004, complaining of palpitations, insomnia and nausea.
Nearly a year later, in October, his mother took him to see another doctor after he confided in her his anxiety over the size of his penis.
Then, in January this year, he visited his original doctor again for stress. In the same month, he told his mother that only his family's love was preventing him from suicide.
He jumped from a block of HDB flats in Bedok on the evening of March 3 and died in hospital two hours later.
State Coroner Tan noted that the boy could have benefited from counselling, besides the medication he received from neighbourhood doctors.
According to psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan, who is in private practice, the boy might have suffered from a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder, severe stress brought on by preoccupation with an imagined defect in one's body.
In a letter to The Straits Times, he said 'the misinformation is not so much that of sex education but the lack of awareness of the presence of a psychological condition'.
Several factors could have given rise to the boy's depression, said Dr Brian Yeo, consultant psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.
He could have been naturally more prone to depression or had difficulty coping with stress - from home, school and relationships - built up over many years.
'We also don't know what he might have experienced in, say, swimming pool changing rooms. There might have been teasing and taunting going on,' said Dr Yeo.
Of the 1,723 people who killed themselves here between 2000 and 2004, only 88 of them were aged 20 or less.
Still, Dr Daniel Fung, 40, deputy chief of the child and adolescent department in the Institute of Mental Health, advised parents and teachers to look out for anxiety and depression when talking to children.
wycin@sph.com.sg
I really feel sorry for the boy. But its a stupid reason to die ... Jus cause yr privates are small. Had supportive parents, girlfiend, studied in a good jc, i think he is one of the luckier ones in life. But then he had to go do this ...
kids nowadays are told to study and get good grades but schools dun help them build up their confidence or strength their will. Students are often depressed jus cos they fail in a test or exam.
At least my time, kids my age were more thick skinned i think .. not afraid and enjoyed school life as it should be .. i see my tuition kids studying like there is no tomm, having a couple or sometimes even more tutors to teach them school stuff ..
Haiz, the younger generation is going bad to worse.
vieri out
April 20, 2006
JC STUDENT SUICIDE
Don't fault sex education, depression to blame: experts
Psychiatrists say it was likely boy was suffering from deep depression
By Liaw Wy-Cin
DEPRESSION was to blame for the suicide of the junior college student last month, said psychiatrists, who added that the fault did not lie with sex education in schools.
On Tuesday, State Coroner Tan Boon Heng recorded a verdict of suicide on the 18-year-old boy, who jumped to his death last month because he believed his penis was too small.
Body dysmorphic disorder
THE junior college student who committed suicide because he felt his private parts were too small could have been suffering from an illness known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
In a letter to The Straits Times yesterday, Dr Ang Yong Guan, chairman of the two-year-old Action Group for Mental Illness, said BDD is a recognised psychological condition. Sufferers are so convinced there is something wrong with their bodies that they become severely stressed and depressed, and cannot function normally.
Dr Ang, 51, a psychiatrist in private practice, said that BDD is usually accompanied by suicidal thoughts or attempts. He cited an American study of 30 BDD sufferers, whose anxieties focused variously on their hair, noses, skin, eyes, breasts and penises. Of these 30 cases, 29 per cent had attempted suicide at least once.
Dr Ang added that 'because of its association with depression and hence, suicide, early diagnosis and intervention is crucial in the management of BDD'.
BDD is actually caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is not detectable through routine procedures like blood tests or brain scans.
It is therefore important to note the symptoms. Sufferers constantly talk about the perceived defect, lose concentration, sleep and appetite, suffer low moods, social withdrawal and a general change in behaviour.
But once diagnosed, medication and intensive individual psychotherapy can bring about a full recovery, Dr Ang said.
State Coroner Tan said the case demonstrated how easily young people fall victim to 'junk information' and recommended that the Education Ministry look into the sex education programme in schools.
But psychiatrists told The Straits Times yesterday that it was a mistake to point the finger at the education system, as the boy was probably suffering from deep-seated depression.
The boy, who cannot be named, had cited his perceived sexual inadequacies as the reason for killing himself in a suicide note addressed to his girlfriend and family.
But according to investigation reports, the second-year JC student had a history of depression stemming from stress relating to his studies.
He first sought treatment for exam-related stress in November 2004, complaining of palpitations, insomnia and nausea.
Nearly a year later, in October, his mother took him to see another doctor after he confided in her his anxiety over the size of his penis.
Then, in January this year, he visited his original doctor again for stress. In the same month, he told his mother that only his family's love was preventing him from suicide.
He jumped from a block of HDB flats in Bedok on the evening of March 3 and died in hospital two hours later.
State Coroner Tan noted that the boy could have benefited from counselling, besides the medication he received from neighbourhood doctors.
According to psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan, who is in private practice, the boy might have suffered from a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder, severe stress brought on by preoccupation with an imagined defect in one's body.
In a letter to The Straits Times, he said 'the misinformation is not so much that of sex education but the lack of awareness of the presence of a psychological condition'.
Several factors could have given rise to the boy's depression, said Dr Brian Yeo, consultant psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.
He could have been naturally more prone to depression or had difficulty coping with stress - from home, school and relationships - built up over many years.
'We also don't know what he might have experienced in, say, swimming pool changing rooms. There might have been teasing and taunting going on,' said Dr Yeo.
Of the 1,723 people who killed themselves here between 2000 and 2004, only 88 of them were aged 20 or less.
Still, Dr Daniel Fung, 40, deputy chief of the child and adolescent department in the Institute of Mental Health, advised parents and teachers to look out for anxiety and depression when talking to children.
wycin@sph.com.sg
I really feel sorry for the boy. But its a stupid reason to die ... Jus cause yr privates are small. Had supportive parents, girlfiend, studied in a good jc, i think he is one of the luckier ones in life. But then he had to go do this ...
kids nowadays are told to study and get good grades but schools dun help them build up their confidence or strength their will. Students are often depressed jus cos they fail in a test or exam.
At least my time, kids my age were more thick skinned i think .. not afraid and enjoyed school life as it should be .. i see my tuition kids studying like there is no tomm, having a couple or sometimes even more tutors to teach them school stuff ..
Haiz, the younger generation is going bad to worse.
vieri out
posted by 46/Sce gang at
12:41 PM
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