DEPRESSION has always been perceived by most as a form of weakness and failing of one’s character make-up, never an illness.
But for singer and songwriter Aizat Amdan, 28, his recent visit to the psychiatric ward of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre has opened his eyes on how serious depression is if it were not addressed and treated at the initial stages.
“Having spent time there with two of its patients and listening to their experiences battling the illness made me realise that more awareness on mental disorders, like depression is gravely needed,” said Aizat, who went to the facility with his celebrity friends, Noh Salleh of Hujan and Faizal Tahir, who performed at the One Moment For Them charity concert in Jordan in 2015.
“I took the opportunity to record my visit to the facility for my newly-created vlog (video blog) so that I could help create more awareness about this medical condition.
“I, too, have friends who suffer from depression, so this visit has been a very informed one,” he said at the re-launch of his vlog at Warner Music Malaysia in Mutiara Damansara, Selangor, recently.
Aizat’s vlog was first created in 2015 as a way to get closer to his fans by sharing some of his music and non-music activities.
“I was ‘vlogging’ for a year with the help of my brother, Ammar, who assisted with the video editing.
“About a year ago, when he was busy with other commitments, I had no choice but to temporarily stop vlogging since the videos needed editing, and that’s not where my expertise lies,” shared Aizat.
When he signed up with Warner Music Malaysia early this year, the management suggested that he picked up where he left off with vlogging as that would be a good marketing and promotional tool for his work.
And so, Warner gave him a Sony a6500 digital camera, which could produce better images than the one he had used earlier.
“When I was vlogging then, it was out of my own initiative, and we made do with what we had.
“So, I hope with this cool camera, we’d be able to come up with contents that feature better visuals,” said Aizat, who plans to upload four videos a month on YouTube.
At the event, he launched the official music video for his single, Jangan Menangis, an acoustic version of the song, which was released last March.
The single is a collaboration between Warner, Faithful Music and Aizat’s Kasi Gegar Entertainment.