-
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…
-
6 Things to Say in Place of ‘Positivity’ Clichés
By Kean Loong // When faced with someone who is depressed, what do you instinctively say to the sufferer? There’re many messages of positivity out there which are fallacies and can make a mental health sufferer feel worse. When interacting with someone who has mental health or mood disorders, speaking the truth is always more…
-
You Remain: Andrea’s Story
By Andrea // I have been struggling with clinical depression, anxiety, stress and agoraphobia for two years now. I rarely leave home and find it difficult to interact with strangers and see no hope for myself in my future. This is my reality. I worked as an English tutor at education companies in Asia but…
-
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…
-
A Theory of Moods: Vikay’s Story
By Vikay // The issue I struggle with is in having too much mental energy and excitement followed by periods of deep silence. Medically this is diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder. In my childhood I was considered moody. But as I aged and started interacting socially, the peaks of excitement were combined with anger resulting in…
-
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…
-
Returning to Work When You Have a Mental Health Condition
By Nicole K. // World Mental Health Day 2017 focuses on mental health in the workplace. Eleven months ago I left the world of freelancing and entered the corporate arena of office cubicles and staff passes, where the majority of “normal working people” resided. I was a part-timer who worked four out of five days…
-
Boys Don’t Cry: Andrew’s Story
By Andrew Y. // I remember the night I surprised myself with my ability to cry. This was during my National Service. My mum was driving me back to camp and I started to tear while talking about how difficult NS was. It was at that point when I realised that I had a problem, and…
-
Recovery is a Journey, Not a Destination: Sam’s Story
By Sam // To others, I appear a tough, strong, and independent girl: life’s hard knocks will not keep me down; I have a solid goal in life, a good career, and a partner. Little did I expect, I hit the rock bottom last April. It began when I felt lost all of a sudden.…
-
The Power of Peers
By Nicole K. // The Tapestry Project SG recently attended Voices of Experience mini-symposium held as part of the Singapore Mental Health Conference (SMHC). The mini-symposium was part of the conference track “Open Your Minds: Let’s Talk!” and centred on the development of the peer support movement. Voice of Experience is an Institute of Mental…
-
Secret Shame and Restoration: Ryan’s Story
By Ryan // There is a saying, that the happiest people are usually the saddest people. Be it that of leaders or that one friend who is always helping people–they give so much of themselves to others but they do not receive much in return. I personally feel that depression is a constant battle within…
-
4 Good Reasons on Why You Need to Have Friends: Judy’s Story
By Judy // It took 2 years for me to realise the importance of friends. It was a scary thought to begin with. But as Nick Vujicic once said: “If you don’t have a friend, be someone else’s friend.” I only started making friends again when I was on a student exchange programme in Europe.…
-
Life After Psychosis: Boon Kee’s Story
By Boon Kee // I was diagnosed with psychosis in April 2014 and was hospitalised at the Institute of Mental Health (Singapore) for more than a month. After I was prescribed with medication I was discharged and placed under the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme (EPIP). Included in this care model are case management services and provide…
-
My Stay in “Hougang Chalet”: Victoria’s Story
By Victoria // There is a rising number of people seeking help for mental health, but there is a shortage of beds in the psychiatric wards of government hospitals. This sometimes means they’d have to be transferred to IMH. Yes, IMH! Or otherwise nicknamed “Hougang Chalet”. Whenever I mention “IMH” around people, their eyes would…
