Another Week Beyond – 2314
Dear friends, “What was one thing that you were stressed about this week?” The young people present responded to the question thoughtfully. They were then instructed to pen down how they felt immediately after the stressful incident and how they felt a day later. This was a simple exercise in developing self-awareness because when we document an experience, we are listening carefully to ourselves. Over time, we become more familiar and comfortable with our emotions, which puts us in a better place to prevent them from upsetting our well-being. However, not all of us can find the words to say …
Another Week Beyond – 2308
Dear friends, “What is it that makes you…YOU?” 6 undergraduates from the Singapore Management University (SMU)explored the question together with 7 of our youth. Any casual observer would see that these 2 groups of young people were different in so many ways and may even wonder if a meaningful conversation between them would be possible. To move them to common ground, we screened “Soul,” a computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. As people laughed and got teary-eyed, a felt connection and a sense of safety emerged that enabled a young person to reveal a rather peculiar strength. …
Another Week Beyond – 2243
Dear friends, 2 youth who were unable to reach our meeting venue on time requested for arrangements to join the session online. We were discussing the topic of failure and they felt a need to register their thoughts on what it meant to them and how it made them feel. “Failure is when you are in a bad place and you do not even want to try to push on,” was how one participant put it. We gathered that he meant that failure is the absence of hope, the resignation that one would never taste success any which way. This resonated …
Another Week Beyond – 2241
Dear friends, Last Monday, 10 October 2022 was World Mental Health Day. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes mental health as a “basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.” WHO elaborates that it is not just the absence of mental disorders, but good mental health is having a state of mind where we cope well with the stresses of life, learn and work well, and contribute to community. Importantly, mental health is not just determined by psychological and biological factors but by a “complex interplay of individual, social and structural stresses and vulnerabilities.” A …
Another Week Beyond – 2223
Dear friends, 11 youth were introduced to the concepts of self-regulation, triggers, trauma responses and coping mechanisms as they trekked the Southern Ridges last Friday. Agreeing to only use their phones for photographs, they endeavoured a mindful beginning where they practiced being aware of their breathing, the manner in which they were walking as well as the healing presence of nature around them. They had not imagined that a walk could be anything more than a physical activity to get around and most importantly, how it may surface an ableism they have not been aware off. Ableism is a prejudice, bias, …
Another Week Beyond – 2217
Dear friends, 9 youth showed up for a screening of the movie “Inside Out” even though they have all seen it before. Some of them have seen it several times too. The movie was our way of continuing a conversation on mental health and inviting more youth to join HeadStrong, a safe and brave space for learning strategies to improve psychological and emotional wellbeing. Before the movie began, we asked what emotions they experienced regularly and while happiness and hopefulness were mentioned, so were sadness, fear, disappointment, and tiredness. One revealed that the moments he felt good did not last long and he …