-
We are people first
“Accept us. Listen to us. Start thinking of us as people first, people with hurts, people who love, people who want to be loved, people who are the same as everyone else.”
-
When Illness is a Stepping Stone Towards Positive Experiences: Kurtle’s Story
By Kurtle // I used to cope with my troubles by self-harming. I have been self-harming since my teens when I was studying in Junior College. I later pursued my studies in Melbourne, where I fell ill. Hence, part of my recovery story happened in Melbourne, Australia, and then in Singapore, where I decided to come…
-
The Struggle for Better Days: Vivien’s Story
By Vivien Y. // I had lost a visible amount of weight in a short amount of time and people said that I looked great. The truth was that at 22 and living through the tribulations of the final semester of university, I was incredibly depressed. I wasn’t eating, I couldn’t sleep, I was running…
-
“Get Over It! What Is This ‘Depression’ Thing Anyway?”: Kevin’s Story
By Kevin W. // Depression is pain—a devastating, yet invisible pain. And so, unless it’s experienced firsthand, it’s hard to comprehend. Consider this analogy: Your brain is to you what a processor is to a computer—both carry out commands to enable healthy functioning. Depression is a virus—a vicious, nasty virus. As with how a virus corrupts…
-
Chasing Joy: Judith’s Story
By Judith // It all started when I was 13 years old. The taunts, unkind words, and mean laughter sought to strip me of the little joy that I was holding on to. Every day, I had no one to spend my recess time with, which all started with a girl in my class rallying…
-
Story: A Cautionary Tale
By Nicole K. // There were hardly any local, personal stories on mental illness and recovery when we first started. The few inspiring gems we found were largely in the form of print biography. Things are vastly different now with more cross-sectoral collaborations, accompanied by a groundswell of mental health initiatives, thanks to the steady…
-
Journalling for Recovery: Xicius’ Story
By Xicius // I have struggled with recovery for many years. I made many attempts at recovery and one of them was through writing a diary. I failed miserably on multiple occasions but I realize that this is due to several reasons. The things I wrote about are vague; no concrete goals or intention. Unspecified…
-
Voice Out 2017: Challenging Silence and Stigma through Song
By Yi Feng // Martin Luther King Jr. once said: In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Societal stigma, shame and secrecy are commonly associated with mental illness. Many persons with mental health issues (PMHI) retreat within and suffer in silence, particularly at the…
-
A Tapestry of Stories
By Nicole K. // The Tapestry Project SG was never set up to compete with or duplicate existing mental health services. Instead of reinventing the wheel, our intention was to bring more awareness to the existence of this proverbial “wheel” so as to weave together the communities of mental healthcare and the mainstream, collaboratively through first-person…
-
An in(VISIBLE) Story
Editor’s Note: Mental health disorders are usually deemed abstract; “invisible”, in contrast to physical ailments like a fractured limb or the flu. I am therefore so thrilled that this handful of youth are championing for real and relatable mental health in their upcoming play in(VISIBLE). I especially appreciated that they took pains to develop the characters holistically, instead of reducing them to…
-
‘D’ is for Dignity in Depression
By Nicole K. // Warning: This isn’t the usual positive, upbeat sort of article I would normally write. But I think when it comes to talking about dignity, I need to reveal some of the things I’ve personally been through that exemplify the opposite of it. This might be triggering for some people, hence reader discretion is…
