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An Open Letter to My Toughest Life Instructor: Florence’s Story
Florence writes a letter to Erin, a personification of the schizophrenia that came into her life. She movingly explores both the catastrophic effect of the condition on her, and ultimately how she learned about herself through the experiences that she went through and reached a place of peace.
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Making the Mundane Wonderful: The Power of Paper Cranes
Sofia details her journey in learning to make paper cranes. Although it didn’t seem like much at first, folding cranes helped her anxiety and depression. Read her story to learn how focusing on something tangible can alleviate negative thoughts and emotions.
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Food for the Soul: Cooking as Self-Care
In line with January’s theme of self-care, our volunteer, Rachel, takes us through her self-care method: cooking. In this story, she talks about the importance of self-care and how she accidentally stumbled upon a method that works for her.
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Passive Suicidal Ideation — Let’s Talk About It
By Rachel // Editor’s note: This article goes into an in-depth discussion about suicidal ideation. Before I was diagnosed with depression in Secondary 3, I often found myself daydreaming when I should have been listening in class or focusing on my work, a norm for the average secondary school student. Yet, amidst these daydreams were…
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Unpacking from Pain
Empathy is a powerful heart tool and the new relationships I’ve made are very precious. I learn everyday about empowerment and try to help my peers let go of shame, remember who they are, without and despite their illness, and walk their paths of recovery.
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New Year, New You: Rachel’s Story
“I have come to accept that perfection is not an achievable goal and that it is our imperfections that make us special. That is not to say that we shouldn’t improve and reflect on our lives from time to time. I believe that ‘new year, new me’ does not ask for the complete reinvention of…
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Mental Health Fallout: My Struggle with Envy
By Beverly // Earlier this year, I went through an extended period of unemployment after leaving a new job due to struggles stemming from social anxiety. That season of uncertainty brought about many mental battles, including feeling envious of how well the lives of my closest friends seemed to be going. While dwelling on unhelpful…
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To Tell or Not to Tell: My Journey With Mental Health Disclosure
By Ying Ying // In 2013, when I learnt that my diagnosis was “brief psychotic disorder” I thought what are people going to think of me? Instinctively, I knew that the odds were stacked against me. During the initial stages of my rest and recovery, I shuddered at the idea of sharing my diagnosis with…
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Reflections from the Singapore Mental Health Conference 2021
By Q. Anuradha // On 24 and 25 August 2021, The Tapestry Project attended the 6th Singapore Mental Health Conference which was jointly organised by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and National Council of Social Service (NCSS). The conference featured international speakers who shared their best…
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Dancing to the Beat of Depression and Anxiety: Q. Anuradha’s Story
By Q. Anuradha // I’m a dancer. Because my body is looking for cues to guide its movement, I pay more attention to the underlying beat in a piece of music than the average person. Music with a steady beat is easier to move to, the patterns easier to anticipate. But what happens when you…
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The Struggle for Self-Compassion: Karen’s Story
By Karen Zainal // A few months ago, I turned 29. I’m embarrassed to admit that it bothered me a great deal. If you’re older than I am, I forgive you for rolling your eyes. As for those of you around my age, I hear your nervous chuckle! We often hear the assertion that age…
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Taxi Conversations: Aznet’s Story
By Aznet T. // When you’re in a taxi, do you make conversation? Lately I’ve been steering topics toward mental health. I might talk about how a mental health social agency trained and matched me to a job: “They helped me for free! I hadn’t worked for five years. They taught me and gave me…
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Recovery is Possible: Alvin’s Story
By Alvin Chew // Since young, I was quite academically inclined. I did well for both my ‘O’ Levels and ‘A’ Levels. My good results in the 1987 ‘A’ Levels earned me the Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship to read Mathematics and Physics in NUS. I was supposed to become a teacher. However, during my…
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Humanity’s Time To Shine
The COVID-19 circuit breaker may have brought society to a standstill, but perhaps now is humanity’s time to shine.
