Uni grad with S$37k savings worries about high cost of therapy

SINGAPORE: A woman took  to social media to share that the increasing cost of living has worsened her financial anxiety and mental health.

“22F university student this year. I have about 37k saved up from my previous jobs. I’ve recently been diagnosed with CPTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder), and I am still trying to cope with the diagnosis as well as the symptoms that come along with it. It’s been a struggle to survive every day, and I feel like giving up,” the woman shared on r/askSingapore on Saturday (Feb 24).

The woman also stated that she does not rely on her parents for financial support and has been paying for all of her expenses and university fees on her own.

“Since I’m currently not working and am financially independent, I worry about not having enough money for the future. I’m currently seeing a private psychologist at a subsidized rate of S$180 per session, which I find is still very expensive considering I’m not working,” the woman wrote.

She then asked if anybody else was experiencing financial anxiety on the online forum.

“Tips on how to cope with CPTSD are appreciated too. Should I also continue seeing my current therapist despite the expensive fees, and are there any alternatives?” she asked.

“Your brain controls your body. If you don’t fix your mental health.. you’ll never get better.”

Singaporean Redditors quickly responded to the woman’s post, offering her advice on how to overcome her condition.

One of them wrote, “Your brain controls your body. If you don’t fix your mental health.. you’ll never get better. Look into mindfulness meditation. Heaps of exercise and vitamin d. Especially if you don’t go out much due to depression.

“These are stuff your therapist would suggest anyway. Also stop scrolling social media. I know Reddit is one too but it’s really a glorified message board.”

Another redditor chimed in and said, “That’s the thing about SG – you develop financial anxiety at a young age because of the high cost of housing and we’re constantly surrounded by reminders of enormous wealth (shiny malls, big cars, consumerism) … 37K as an undergrad is a lot of money saved up! CPTSD is something you should take care of and I agree that private psychs are a lot better than those in public hospitals. Sadly SG health insurance doesn’t cover therapy and psych.”

As for other less expensive options for therapy, some suggested that because she was still a student, she could use her university’s free counseling services.

Meanwhile, a redditor who seemed to resonate with what the woman was going through also left a comment, saying, “Can I ask where did you go for cptsd and what’s the root cause? If you don’t mind, can you dm me? I am looking for a therapist at the moment and I suspect I’ve cptsd / ptsd as well…”

Featured image by Depositphotos