Trauma

This is going to be messy and unorganized, but unfiltered. I know there are people who have had it far worse than I could ever imagine and I feel deeply for anyone who’s gone through any kind of trauma. However, one of the biggest sources of pain and suffering that I see and experience inContinue reading “Trauma”

Revelations

I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m not a mental health or medical professional. If you’ve experienced any of the issues I talk about, please seek professional help. What I describe below has not been officially diagnosed for me, but is based on a lot of reading and introspection. Below are my lessonsContinue reading “Revelations”

Life

Written in July 2025: I have a rare month with nothing to worry about. I did well in my first semester, and I won’t know what I’m studying next semester until it begins. I’ve had a lot of time to think. All this time off means for the first time since my child was born,Continue reading “Life”

Control

In my last posts, I described a brief mental health crisis I went through. The lesson I’ve had to re-learn is that I need to re-shift my focus to what’s in my control. I need to take full ownership of my situation because no one else can or will. It’s nothing personal; it’s just thatContinue reading “Control”

Why

I recently went through a mental health crisis. While I encourage you to follow the ideas in this post I wrote previously., I’m going to explain why those resources failed me in the hope that someone who works in mental health sees this and has the power and motivation to do something about it. IContinue reading “Why”

Survival

(Unfiltered post) I’m just coming out of a deep, dark, suicidal depression that’s lasted for the past two weeks or so. I’ve experienced depression since I was a young child and the lesson, I keep receiving from most mental health professionals is that my problems aren’t serious enough. I tend to get waves of suicidalContinue reading “Survival”

Still here

Posts will continue to be sporadic, but I’m still here. Here’s an update of what’s been going on in my life: It’s been a significant time of transition for my family and I. My job in management ended and we moved countries all as planned. The main reason for the move was quality of life.Continue reading “Still here”

Suicidal thoughts

This is my recent personal experience. It’s going to come across as self-centred and dark. However, I’m sharing it so people can understand and get into the mindset of someone going through suicidal thoughts. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, seek professional help immediately. This time is different. Last time I was in despair andContinue reading “Suicidal thoughts”

Chaos

Thinking: erratic. Task switching. No focus. What’s happening? Days full of progress, followed by friction. More sleep needed. How can we avoid mental chaos? Choose one thing and focus everything on that until it’s done. This will lead to much-needed salvation and mental rest. It’s time to prioritise. What’s the most important thing you needContinue reading “Chaos”

Hope 2

TLDR: This post deals with suicide. If in immediate danger, call the emergency services phone number or go to the nearest hospital or police station or reach out to a trusted person. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, copy out and follow this template: I commit to staying alive For: If in immediate danger I will:Continue reading “Hope 2”

Mental Health – A spike in cases, threat of lockdown: my feelings. Update: near lock-down

I feel that an update is necessary as things have changed since my last post. I will not be writing much about the general situation now as I feel that most people have already lived through something like this and the news is covering this. Instead, I will focus more on my family’s and my situation and my feelings about it.

Mental Health – A spike in cases, threat of lockdown: my feelings

In light of the invisible threat hanging over society, I will be discussing Covid-19 related anxiety and depression, possible antidotes (remember I am not a trained professional), what happened recently in my region, how I feel about it, and the silver lining.

Overwork

It turns out there is such a thing as working too much. I think I have finally found my limit. I am at a crossroads. If I continue down this path I fear it will break me. Mentally or physically. I can already see the cracks forming. When you are inundated with stress and/or lackContinue reading “Overwork”

Flying in a pandemic and self-quarantine

New Zealand to Taiwan The following is based on the rules and conditions in March/April 2020. To stay up to date on the current rules, see the links at the end. It has been just over a year since I left New Zealand to move back to Taiwan. This is my experience of flying inContinue reading “Flying in a pandemic and self-quarantine”

Stress

Stress can cause a whole range of problems, but you can overcome it by changing your thinking about stress and building systems and tools to deal with it. Each time you overcome a stressful situation you build resilience…

…The tough part is getting to the other side. How do you maintain clear thinking and overcome the challenges you face?

Self-analysis – Depression: a “depressive episode”

That was intense. What happened? If you read my last post “Depression: a “depressive episode”” you will see that I found myself in a pretty dark place. Things escalated very quickly to the point I felt unable to control the situation. It had been a long and gradual process that crept up on me andContinue reading “Self-analysis – Depression: a “depressive episode””

Dreams

See “Time management” for productivity and efficiency tips. Background When I was younger, I had big dreams and I was uncompromising on achieving these. I did not like the idea of being tied down to a single job or debt-forced to work, unable to take risks, fearful of losing the ability to pay a mortgageContinue reading “Dreams”

Depression: Tiredness

One of the most pervasive symptoms of depression I experience every single day is feeling tired. No matter how many hours of sleep I get, I always feel tired when I wake up and also throughout the day. I have experienced this since I was in high school. Clarity vs brain fog Tiredness affects everything.Continue reading “Depression: Tiredness”

Technology: relationships, mental health and productivity

Technology is wonderful-for education, sharing knowledge, business, and connecting with people you otherwise could not. However, the way we use it is not always in our best interest-for relationships, for our mental health, for productivity. We are always on, yet disconnected from reality, our concentration fragmented.

Depression: how to help

A lot of the stigma that comes with depression is through lack of understanding. It is precisely because of these kinds of statements that I remain fairly anonymous in this journey.
Learn to recognise depression, be kind, be patient, do not judge, build trust, be there. Normalise talking about emotions and mental health.