DIFFERENT METHODS OF SELF-HARM
People above the age of 60 usually self-harm in two ways, said Dr Yao Fengyuan, senior consultant and chief of the Geriatric Psychiatry Department at the Institute of Mental Health.
“One is by cutting themselves. The other is by overdosing. We think it is because they have more medication as compared to youth,” he said.
When I visited Mr Wong’s house, pills were stored in transparent containers and placed in different areas throughout the one-bedroom flat. It reminded me of my grandparents’ apartment, which had a three-tier trolley full of medication.
I could not help but think if having access to months’ worth of pills was risky for patients, even though it might be necessary for some.
Mr Wong, for instance, is partially blind and has trouble getting around. According to him, he wanted an escape from worries of being isolated and dying alone.
Such concerns are potential triggers for those over 60 to commit self-harm, said observers.
But having someone to talk to in person has given Mr Wong a lifeline. For the past six years, social workers from non-profit organisation O’Joy have been visiting him fortnightly.
I would imagine my conversation with Mr Wong had inklings of some of those chats, as he frequently peppered his stories to me with, “I told them that as well”.