HAPPY GO LUCKY: Mdm Badriah, 72 keeps a positive outlook to life and makes strongly believes that you got to let go of the past to move on in life. She believes that being happy and be contented with your life, that is what that will keep you going.
PHOTO BY: DAVID YIP
Once Mdm Badriah Jumaat starts talking, she couldn’t stop. Her bubbly personality and friendly personality are apparent when you see her. But who knows beneath this exterior lies a dark secret. She suffers from a mental illness.
Imagine getting angry at minor things. Imagine being in an emotional state where the only thing you feel is desolation. Image feeling living every moment of your life where you have puppet strings tied to you.
This is what a person who suffers from depression go through. Welcome to her world. The world of Depression.
According to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), they saw about 1,800 new patients diagnosed with MDD last year, an increase of about 7 per cent from 2014.
Mdm Badriah, 72 is retired. She has three married children and eight grandchildren. She currently is living with her middle child due to some circumstances and is currently a client in Club HEAL.
When it all began
Her depression began in around May 2015 when she got to know that her son is going to sell off the flat that she had bought with her hard-earned money. She had been living in that house for 14 years. To her, that flat contained sentimental value hence she was unwilling to sell it and that was the triggering point to her mental illness.
She explains that her son was the main reason that she became depressed. She was surprised as to when her son told her that he had already made plans to sell the house and he had already engaged a property agent without telling her. In addition to that, she is not on friendly terms with her daughter in law and they and going to move out into their new home without her.
Due to this, it has affected her emotional well-being as she explains that her mind was always filled with thoughts on where she is going to stay.
“Luckily I didn’t become crazy, I think I can become crazy because of this,” she says.
However, things started to take a positive turn when she got introduced to Club HEAL as a client. She has been recovering well and has learnt a lot of things from it. She has a clearer mind now. Besides that she stated that met new friends at Club HEAL and did not have to fret over a place to stay now as she is waiting for her BTO flat to be built, and is happily staying with her middle child at the moment.
More than just a club
She joined Club HEAL on Aug 25, 2016. She joined the centre located in Pasir Ris East after being recommended by Changi Hospital when she was getting her medications and was told that there is a rehab centre that caters to the needs of Muslims. In addition to that they also welcome all people with mental illness, regardless of race or religion. They provide recreational activities, workshops/sessions such as art therapy and cooking sessions.
Club HEAL aims to assist and empower persons with mental illness to regain confidence in themselves and others in their journey towards community reintegration.
“You got to have the sincere heart and right attitude to understand people with mental illness and be considerate with them,” explains Ms Roslina Rasdi on how they choose match the volunteers and clients.
Giving back
She plans to go back to Club HEAL not as a client but now as a peer herself, as she has been encouraged by her counsellor as she is emotionally stable now. She previously was a volunteer at Mendaki for years and she states that she enjoys helping out with the community. Now she wants to give back. She enjoys teaching people and given her exceptional leadership skills she got selected to be the leader for the sewing workshops in Club HEAL. She is well known for being a strict leader during workshops.
“If you want to do something, do it properly with full effort. If not get lost,” is something she said repeatedly and a motto that she lives by.