Starting With My Family
For me, mental health motivates everything that I do. It’s something very personal. As someone who has been hospitalized twice for episodes of mental illness, I understand the consequences and danger of losing your mental health.
Beyond my hospitalizations, I have felt depressed, anxious, stressed, demotivated, and lonely. I think these are problems and challenges that many people have. I know that I am not alone. In fact, there’s over one billion people who face some kind of serious mental health challenge, and the rest of the population remains tasked to survive the suffering that comes with being human. Psychological pain is everywhere.
In my greatest times of need, during my biggest, most scary moments of despair and delusion, my parents and two older brothers were there to save me — they were my lifelines. If it weren’t for their care, love, and support, I do not know where I would be today.
Their unconditional love has fueled the kind of good energy I needed to bounce back into a safer, healthier, and happier headspace. That’s why I believe so much in the power of human support in matters related to mental health. My family saved me. How can I return the favor?
After one year of Dork Dancing for mental health within my community in Da Nang, Vietnam, I am excited to share what I have learned, returning to my original source of resilience: my family.
Over the years, my family taught me tremendous wisdom and strength through their behaviors and still, under the hood they, too, struggle with mental health challenges of varying colors — because heck, we all do.
Nobody is perfect and we all have things to work on. Looking at my family, a number of mental health challenges becomes apparent: motivation, stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, meaning & purpose, relationships, exercise & diet, etc.
More than anything, I want to help my family in the kind of way that they have helped me. I want them to take care of themselves and prioritize their wellbeing. I want them to understand and practice self-acceptance, compassion, and joy. As the youngest, I have always felt that I have had a birds’ eye view of my family members’ strengths and weaknesses. I try to incorporate what works and unlearn what doesn’t.
In short, I care a lot about my family and they care a lot about me. That’s why I’m starting my DORK Coaching practice with them, within this realm of safety. I really care about their mental health and want to do what I can to help — but need to confront and understand the limitations. I can only help to the extent that my family wants help. Thus far, they all have an open mind. They’re on board to participate. We’ll see how the process goes and what we may discover.