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No Amount of Renaming is Going to End Stigma
By Claire // “The Institute of Mental Health” What comes to mind when you see those words? Also known as “IMH”, it is not the first name that’s been given to Singapore’s sole psychiatric hospital. Its first name, in 1841, was ‘The Insane Hospital’. That was followed by ‘The New Lunatic Asylum’ in 1887, ‘The…
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5 Ways to Develop Empathy, A Bedrock Social Skill
By Joy Hou // “I just get so angry when she says she will call and then doesn’t,” said Celine about her good friend. Her husband Dave responded, “Darling, it’s such as a small matter, why are you always getting upset about these trivial things?” Inevitably, Celine got even more frustrated, leading to another one…
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Minding My Mind: Emily’s Story
By Emily // I am Emily. “THAT Emily” as the haters would say. Even my closest friends and schoolmates whisper critically amongst themselves at the very sight of me. They saw me as different and hated the fact that I was considered “special” and favoured by teachers and school seniors. Being the only child of…
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Living with Undiagnosed Mental Illness: Amanda’s Story
By Amanda // I am fearful of disappointing my family. Unlike most people who have an official mental health diagnosis, I do not have one. But I do struggle with mental health issues. I have lived with an eating disorder and anxiety for almost four years. Today, I am here to share my story as…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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A Letter to Mental Health Warriors: Judy’s Story
By Judy // I initially defined “recovery” as solely the healing of the mind. But neglected the healing of the heart and soul. I wondered if I had wasted the past three years living in apathy and bitterness because I’ve neglected my heart and soul, while getting treated for my mind. To cope with the…
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Living with Depression: Natasha’s story
Editor’s note: I met Natasha some time back. Her eyes are bright and there’s a pep in her step. One would never guess the hardship she has endured in her young life.
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My Bipolar Experience: Dora’s Story
Editor’s Note: A very brave piece by Dora who shares candidly about her journey with bipolar disorder and its challenging symptoms such as delusions, panic attacks and suicidal ideation.
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A Letter to Mum: A Poem by Niao Yu
Editor’s Note: Niao Yu is a caregiver to his mother who suffers from mental illness. In this poem, he shares his raw feelings of loss, grief, hope and acceptance. A heartfelt moving piece that’s worth the read to the very end.
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From Darkness to Light: Dee’s Story
Editor’s Note: Many times we do not realise how far we’ve come until we turn a page, to look back in reflection. This is why journalling is key to mental health recovery. Dee shares her personal journal entry which was written during her darkest times. Today she lives in victory and continues to make progress day…
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An interview with the author of ‘David’s Story’: Mary M.
Editor’s Note: We do our best to pair our book reviews together with author interviews so that our readers can have a fuller appreciation of the help resources in our community. We are very honoured and grateful to have Mary, the author of ‘David’s Story‘, share with us her personal story on loss and renewed hope. We…
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Please stop asking if I’ve taken my medicine: Raphael’s Story
Editor’s Note: Often times we don’t realise that our words can mar our best intentions. Perhaps we ought to pay more attention to our tone and timing when it comes to expressing care towards those around us. Here’s a raw account by Raphael on the topic of medication. Thanks for the candid sharing Raphael!
