Healing in Motion: How Dance Transformed My Emotional Well-Being?
When you think of emotional wellbeing and popular modalities of expressing and releasing one’s emotions, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it may be meditation. For others talk therapy… walks in nature, yoga, breathwork or even taking an ice bath. We may miss the fact that one of the earliest, […]
From Darkness to Light: How Meditation Transformed My Struggle into a Journey of Healing and Empowerment
In a world that often feels overwhelming, I found myself trapped in a cycle of negative thinking and depression. The weight of my emotions was a constant burden, leading to endless worries, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness. During this tumultuous time, I discovered meditation—a practice that not only facilitated my healing but also opened a […]
Life on the Waves: Navigating the Mental Health Terrain of the Seafaring Profession
Many perceive the seafaring profession as a challenging career path. As a deck cadet serving on my first merchant ship for nearly six months, I can attest that the seafaring lifestyle can indeed be tough and mentally taxing. The mentally taxing aspects of the seafaring lifestyle stem from the constant need for vigilance and responsibility […]
My Battle with Burnout: insights and reflections through self- discovery
Tuesday 4th Jan 2022 was the first time that I admitted something was wrong. Feelings of being overwhelmed, overwrought, panicked (with no real reason), wrung out and a sense of emptiness had overcome me. My wife found me in heap on the floor crying. With no real reason to explain why I was in that […]
Navigating Adversities Through Compassion and Gratitude : My Transformative Story
Disruption can either empower us or haunt us. The personal impact of unexpected life events depends on the meaning we choose to give them. Experiencing self-harm as a teenager, health scares, being made redundant while I was sick and dealing with dad guilt were some of the challenges I had to learn how to navigate. […]
Navigating identities: Being a Bipolar Lesbian in Hong Kong Intersectionality and mental health
As a non-binary, bipolar lesbian in Hong Kong, I’ve had a unique experience within these two communities. I self-identified as a lesbian in my early teens, though it wasn’t until my college years that I officially came out to my mother. Her religious background made her initially taken aback, but it wasn’t until years later, […]
From Fear to Hope to Love: My Mental Health Journey as a Cancer Thriver
As my fellow countryman William Wallace said “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives”. Here is how I turned my death sentence into a life sentence. In August 2020, at age 51, I found out I was dying. I had just been diagnosed with stage IV terminal lung cancer which had spread to my […]