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"Hello uncle!!!" The daughter of one of my neighbours, probably no older than four, animatedly greeted me as I passed them along the corridor. I courteously smiled and said hello in return. The child's parents praised her. "Oh good! You said hi to uncle!" Whoever this girl's pre-school teachers are, they are also doing a great job of helping to raise a polite child. Photo: Aaron Blanco Tejedor, Unsplash Unbeknownst to them, however, was the swell of anxiety that this interaction had triggered. Right after I had smiled and waved, I wanted to sprint back into the house, cover myself with a blanket and hide under the bed. Ironically, I have no trouble giving a presentation at work. And though I'm not a gifted, charismatic orator, I'm also comfortable speaking in front of a hundred people on topics I'm familiar with. However, interacting with children makes me feel awkward and anxious. Overthinking worsens the apprehension. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I accidentally blurt out a swear word while talking to the parents? What if I don't swear, but complain or say something negative while trying to make small talk? Or worse, in my edginess, I end up making a bad joke (probably toilet humour, horrors) while trying to calm myself? *Facepalm* My better half, of course, has no such issues. She is the one who plays with our three-year-old nephew. Having long realised that his uncle has little to no interest in interacting with him, he hardly approaches me. I have not progressed beyond the hellos and "Oh that's nice" when he shows me one of his toys. Photo: Lucas Favre, Unsplash A product of my environment Why do I find interacting with children awkward? Perhaps it's my upbringing. My maternal grandmother was the eldest daughter in her family, so my mum's aunts and uncles didn't have their kids till much later. Hence, by the time my second cousins arrived, I was already a teenager with no interest in carrying babies or playing with toddlers. It's the opposite on my dad's side. His older siblings had their kids earlier, so by the time I came along, my cousins had no interest in playing with me. As I child, I interacted with my classmates and other kids at playgrounds. But I never had to interact with children as I got older. So, being around them is awkward, to say the least. Well, my neighbours don't know about this. That morning, beneath the unruffled exterior, an innocent greeting caused air raid sirens to blare. Alongside them was a voice over the internal loudhailer yelling, "Take cover! Run away! Save yourself!" Fortunately, my neighbours entered the lift while I was sending recyclables down the chute. I relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Photo: Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash However, I realised that I should have waited five minutes before heading downstairs, for the girl and her mum were standing in the carpark waiting for the dad to bring the car around. Nervously, I assumed that since greetings had been exchanged, I could quietly walk by without anyone needing to say anything. I was mistaken. The moment I appeared in their line of sight, I was again greeted with a "Hello uncle!!!" with the same enthusiasm. The mum again praised her daughter for being courteous, as I mustered a diplomatic smile and wave in response. Well, it could have been 'worse'. The child could have been inquisitive and started asking where I was going, which would have led to a chat (albeit reluctantly). Like most folks, my neighbourly interactions are few and far between as I prefer keeping to myself. Besides, since everyone's work schedule is different, you hardly run into your neighbours anyway. Photo: Adam Jang, Unsplash Personal growth goal That said, this experience made me realise that I need to start overcoming my anxieties/insecurities. So, I've been preparing myself for the inevitability of encountering this family again. There is always room for personal growth. I am determined to overcome my apprehension as my immediate neighbour has a daughter who is almost two and given her parents' friendly disposition (they introduced themselves when they moved in), chances are their child will be, too. Remaining comfortable no matter what situation you're in is something worth striving for. At the very least, my neighbours might even start to think I'm a cool uncle. More importantly, perhaps in some small way, I'm helping those parents bring up courteous children. – Jeremy

1 in 3 adolescents report depression, anxiety but only 10% of parents can spot mental health issues: NUS-led study NUS and its research partners did a survey to "understand and establish” the mental health and resilience of adolescents here About one in three of the youth reported mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety and loneliness This was more serious among those aged 14 to 16 It also found that only around one in 10 parents were able to identify "clinical-level mental health symptoms" in their children The survey's lead researcher said the results will help inform and guide the planning of prevention and treatment services here, especially for those at risk https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/1-3-adolescents-depression-anxiety-only-1-10-parents-spot-symptoms-2159106

This coronavirus anxiety caused me to make these money mistakes. I've read that the swift and unprecedented spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has made the financial markets extremely volatile, leaving investors with huge losses in a short timeframe. I must admit when pandemic started, stocks and crypto went down and as an aggressive investor, it lead me to sell my shares. It give me literally losses and up to now, I'm doing no good. I'm having panic attacks thinking on what kind of investment is the right ting to do. There are also sleepless nights and its making me feel drained. What do you think should I do? I need help.

Last yeat about the same time, I posted about my friend's dad is very ill, then the mum afraid to take care of him, to move or not to move to new home... then hired a maid to take care of the sick dad, and then moved to new home, dad passed away, mum try to get rid of the maid....etc etc... Now, another problem. The mum seems to be a bit lonely and depress. She told me she can't sleep properly at night because she's scared and day time she is afraid of going home (hubby died at home almost a year ago). She work in the morning and usually home by 2pm. She always need her younger son (early 20) to be at home after work to accompany her. The elder son, my friend, is not staying together due to work travel distance. But weekend he will stay with them so the brother can go out with his friends at night. Sometimes, when my friend reached home, them mum will not be at home because she will sit at the kopitiam until someone comes home. Both of them can't probably be at home all the time to accompany her. The younger son had just enrolled in a part time study and when that takes place, he will be home even late, then what will happen to her? Maybe she still not get used to being alone after the hubby passed away. Maybe she still not get used to sleep alone in the room. Last time they stay in a 2room flat and they used to all sleep together in the small living hall. Now suddenly the house is so big and the surrounding is so quiet (Punggol) compare to city area where they used to stay. We dunno how to tackle this problems and afraid the mum will go into depression and worst, if schizophrenia develops. Anyone been through such problem before?

Yesterday sent my maid to the airport. No more maids to help with the house work. Suddenly knowing the fact, made me weep and cry. Or was it something else? I don't know it's because I miss my maid, or the fact that I have to start doing housework. Or a wave of pasts unhappy things just overwhelmed me suddenly. Like a sense of panic during school days exam period, or first day go army, break off with GF, seeing GF kissing another man, death of a lose family member....... Of course the 9/11 events on the TV also brought back many past memories of relationships and unhappy work experiences, and other matters. So I cried the whole night...more like weeping with tears. I have aa happy family, nice stable work, good health, and relationship with friends and colleagues are good. So there is no recent events that can evoke such sadness in me, that I can think of. I just don't known why suddenly I am so emotional, red wailing eyes, nose blocked, etc. I don't dabble in shares lately, so cannot be the uncertainty of losing $$$ on shares. I don't love my maid, that is why I sent her back. So no emotional baggage. Do I need to spend money to see a psycharitic? Or just have a good lunch today? The sense of lost, helpless, useless, sadness in me is still strong as I write this. I don't have urge to go kill myself or do foolish things. Perhaps I just need a listening ears....or a good holiday. Not sure why I felt this way since yesterday morning. I have no idea when it will go away. Are such feelings common to anyone of you? Am I sick or really need a councellor or mental doctor.

Oil spikes $25 a barrel on anxiety over US bailout Monday September 22, 2:24 pm ET Oil prices shoot up over $25 a barrel as anxiety over US bailout weighs on dollar NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices are spiking more than $25 a barrel as rising anxiety over the U.S. government's proposed bailout of the financial system batters the dollar and sends investors scrambling for safe-haven assets. Investors worried Monday that the mammoth $700 billion rescue proposal will dramatically ramp up U.S. borrowing, an inflationary move that sent the dollar sharply lower versus its rivals. Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up $25.45 to $130.00 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prepare for increase in oil price, can go and pump now before they do anything.