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"Our intelligence, however lucid, cannot perceive the elements that compose it and remain unsuspected so long as, from the volatile state in which they generally exist, a phenomenon capable of isolating them has not subjected them to the first stages of solidification. I had been mistaken in thinking that I could see clearly into my own heart..."
~First and Last Notebooks, Simone Weil~
 
I had been mistaken in thinking that I could know clearly my own mind.

It was tough three months at the end of 2019, and it was hard to celebrate the festive season. Much energy was spent on keeping myself sane, and breathing. I had been contemplating about depression, death, and love and the similarities between them - the torments, the melancholy, the creativity and dance, the passion overflow, the stricken with exhaustion, the delicious self-deception, the sweet confusion, and the inevitable transformation.

In our work with leaders, and employees, we educate them about mental wellbeing and equip them with tools and techniques to face stress and become resilient. We advise managers and organizations reorient their company culture so it is conducive to being a mentally healthy workplace.

More times than not, I find that our work boils down to one core -- helping every individual find the love within themselves, for themselves, for each other, and for the work they do and lives they live. 

Because, without the self-awareness of who they are, and how they are doing emotionally, they will not be able to know whether they need support, whether they are stressed out, whether others need some sympathy. And in the self-awareness, slowly they discover the 720 degrees of themselves, and more, especially some elements they do not want to know. They come to some realization that pain is unavoidable -- but perhaps suffering is. They come to understand that sadness, anger, resentment, lethargy, are all part of normal human lives, and that they can take off the mask of smiling faces that burden them. 

Counterintuitive perhaps, in preventing burnout, but pain, is one key element that has kept me alive. Simone Weil talks about pain, and the pain in love. The same volatility exists in depression. The same isolation. End of 2019, my mind and heart was so painful to the extent I came to the conclusion that there would be no hope, and thus my life, however meaningful, was needless to prolong.

"... But this knowledge, which the shrewdest perceptions of the mind would not have given me, had now been brought to me, hard, glittering, strange, like a crystallised salt, by the abrupt reaction of pain."
~First and Last Notebooks, Simone Weil~

With some scolding, some cajoling, some comforting, some support from people who strangely cares about me, I managed to pull through and come to a space now where I can engage with my thoughts and transition. Letting go of the old is painful, it is like tearing the skin off and exposing the raw flesh, as there is not yet the new layer. Yet, this is where the creativity lies, the play that is possible, to design the new, to feel the bare air on my soul, and to let the sadness sink in. 

I used to think that the sadness I felt in a depressive episode made me insane, but like Julie Reshe wrote recently, the sadness and pain are what makes us sane. I think it is what makes us human, and expands our capacities to understand others, so that when we find our colleagues' behaviour drastically changes from energetic to hiding away on his/her own, we can be sensitive to give them space to talk, instead of unsolicited advice to "Don't feel like that!" due to our own anxieties around sadness. 
 
We embark into a new decade. We continue to advise organizations on workplace mental health and support executives in managing their emotions and stress.

I would like to emphasize though, that it is not just employers' who need to take action, but perhaps even more so, it is employees' individual responsibilities to seek, to explore, to reflect, to learn, and to allow themselves to feel, because mental wellbeing is their's. 

If we want to change the world, we must start with ourselves.
It is up to us to us to take care of our own minds, and hearts.
I hope everyone finds the space to know their own minds in 2020, and as Rumi would enlighten us, to seek the barriers we have built within ourselves against love, and then maybe, we would be less depressed, less anxious, less sad, and less exhausted.

Thank you for the support towards Bearapy's mission, living with us through the successes and disappointments. 

To a loving and mentally well new decade, and a healthy, prosperous Year of the Rat, 

Enoch
Bearapy on China Radio International
China Radio International interviewed Bearapy on mental wellbeing in China and playfulness to deal with a paradoxical life. This puts mental health squarely on national broadcast. The host, Man Ling, chatted with our Managing Director, Enoch, on how culture, upbringing, and mindsets affect how we approach mental health. To listen to the 3 episodes and also read about Man Ling's own thoughts after the conversation, click here
 
Davos 2020 - Workplace Mental Health
Davos is happening in a few days. The World Economic Forum has been supporting mentally healthy workplaces for years. Here are some discussions, tips, and research that the Forum has produced over the years with some insightful recommendations. 
FOR A MENTALLY HEALTHY WORLD 
COPYRIGHT © ENOCH LI 2010-2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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