Local musician wants to start a conversation about mental health
Local musician Dominic Chin wants to start a conversation about mental health through his new single, Shy.
While most people will celebrate when their songs are praised, Chin's first brush with fame in 2014 took a toll on his mental health.
His song, You First Believed, a tribute to Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew, had gone viral.
The 23-year-old told The New Paper: "I got stressed from all the attention as I felt like I was the country's biggest fraud.
"I did not deserve any love from anybody because if they knew who I was, or how untalented I was, they would be gravely disappointed in me."
It was around this time that Chin - who performed at ChildAid, an annual charity concert co-organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, in 2012 and 2014 - began having trouble sleeping.
He sought help from a mental health professional two years ago upon the suggestion of friends. There, he discovered that he had developed impostor syndrome and was diagnosed with insomnia.
According to Dr Jacob Rajesh, senior consultant psychiatrist at Promises Healthcare, impostor syndrome causes an individual to feel intensely undeserving of his achievements and worried that he will be exposed as a fraud.
While it is not a mental disorder, it can lead to increased anxiety and depressive symptoms.
FEARS
Chin's latest single, Shy, originated as a poem he wrote during his lowest point in 2014 when his days felt pointless and nights were plagued by irrational fears.
Rewritten to fit an energetic, indie pop sound, Shy explores the feeling of being haunted by intense fears into the wee hours.
Said the full-time performing artist with the Music and Drama Company: "Shy is just my candid take of what I am going through, knowing that many other individuals suffer from this too.
"My wish is for the song to spark conversation of why we are 'not okay'. Let's all stop hiding behind the 'I'm fine', and let's talk about it and grow as a community."
Chin, who is involved in the National Day Parade 2019 theme song, Our Singapore, has learnt that speaking openly about his difficulties with friends and family, and taking care of himself mentally and physically is the way to overcome his struggles.
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