The year is coming to an end however we, as a society have yet to evolve from understanding the struggle of individuals when it comes to mental health. It is such a taboo topic as it makes others squirm without deliberately thinking twice about it. But honestly, why, though? The world is changing and so are we as people.
For all things, we should know better and offer to help those that go to battle with their inner demons. It could be your closest friends, family or maybe even you. Nobody asked to be like this, but as humans, it is our nature to be kind and understanding of sensitive matters such as this, but it is also in our nature to be devious and cold-hearted. Note this, it’s not just their responsibility but also ours.
That said, in conjunction with Raffles College of Higher Education, the students of the International Fashion Business course has created a campaign called Look Within to address a few common psychology issues happening around us today. By creating this platform, they are helping those who are battling their own demons to come out and share their stories.
The name of the campaign symbolises the cry for help of people who are unfairly judged by society without knowing the truth behind closed doors. That said, aside from creative workshops and pop-up stores — Look Within also held a discussion on mental health, stereotypes and labels with photographer, Amanda Tan, content creator, Pricilla Mark and co-founder of Ilmu Seks & Cempaka Collective, Herinza Syadza.
Each of them shared the stories of their own battles with anxiety, depression and, bipolar disorder to the public. This absolute eye-opener discussion made every attendee comfortable and safe among each other as they shared their deepest, darkest stories out loud as well.
The importance of spreading awareness of social psychology issues in our current generation is absolutely crucial, especially for the younger generation who are slowly coming to the realisation of what it’s all about. With that, Look Within has certainly done a great job for making everyone feel included and it’s such a worthy event to attend.
As a community, we should encourage more safe space events like this and hopefully someday in the future, mental health will no longer be a taboo subject to talk about.
Images via lookwithin_raffles & @cxpturingsouls