Young people seem to be much more emotional-driven in their deeds these days, considering the recent spate of emotion-related tragedies.

For instance, Ishi Lau, a band member of Soul, committed suicide in June. This was followed by 16-year-old Muhammad Nasir Abdul Aziz’s act of murdering his girlfriend’s husband in July. Last but not least, Army Corporal Dave Teo raised a national alarm when he went missing from duty with his rifle, and subsequently intended to kill his ex-girlfriend with it in September. 

Some people attributed these acts of emotions to a new phenomenon termed “emo,” which has gained popularity recently. A simple search of the keyword “emo” on the internet would yield tens of pages of websites on emo-related issues.

Being “emo” generally means being melancholic and oversensitive to certain issues. Unlike basic emotions, such as being happy or sad, it is a state involving extreme emotions.

Dr. Ann-Marie Lew, head of the National University of Singapore Counselling Centre, said “this state of sadness, hypersensitivity, and frequent crying spells did not just come by recently.” She added that the word “emo” might be the “in-label” youths use to describe this state of feeling and being.  

“To the extent that ‘emo’ is an ‘in’ and accepted word, it may also imbue some other positive or neutral qualities on the person who describes himself as being ‘emo’,” Lew said.

Lew added that factors contributing to extreme emotions may be due to recent loss, which results from self-guilt or persistent negative childhood experience, for example, and it is not uncommon for this group of individuals.

“When the state of sadness of such individuals becomes very extreme, they might manifest a combination of physical, emotional, and behavioural symptoms that could be classified as indicative of clinical depression,” she added.

One of the consequences of extreme emotions is suicide. Lew said that “an act of suicide can result when an individual suffers a significant life stressor and already has pre-existing emotional problems.”

In a media release by the Institute of Mental Health during March last year, suicide contributed to about 2.4 percent of all deaths in Singapore, which is higher than the number deaths caused by traffic accidents.

According to the media release, studies revealed that although women are more likely to attempt suicide than men, men are four times more likely to die from suicide than women. In Singapore, there are slightly more adolescent females between the ages 15 to 19 who died from suicide.

Suicide is also among the top three causes of death among young people aged 15 to 35 years. The reasons for suicide range from relationship or family problems, to study stress, financial difficulties and marital problems.

According to a TODAY article on Sept. 1, psychiatrist Dr. Chia Boon Hock said that the suicide rates in Singapore remained relatively stable despite fluctuations. He also mentioned that the rates “are a good index of the amount of ‘suffering’ occurring in our society.”

However, the underlining issue here is how much of this “suffering” validates the rash acts of murder and suicide attempts that young people seem to be taking to.

Being "emo" may become a fatal trend to follow.

Suicide prevention on campus

The NUS Counselling Centre prepared a DVD which was aired by the various faculties across NUS on Sept. 10 to mark the annual Suicide Prevention Day.

The latest suicide prevention exercise is the Samaritans of Singapore Suicide Awareness Week, which commenced on Sept. 22. Talks are organized by the Samaritans of Singapore to educate Singaporeans on suicide over a week. Interested parties can contact the Counselling Centre at 6516-2376 for more information.

The Counselling Centre is open to address the queries from the student body. Students and staff facing life-threatening emergencies can call the NUS lifeline at 6516-7777.