MHAW’21 Guest Talk: “Empowering our Youths “ and "Scoliosis and Eating Disorders"

“Igniting Change and Empowering our Youths for Good in Reimagining the Future of Youth Mental Health” by Cho Ming Xiu; “Sharing on Scoliosis and Eating Disorder” by Elizabeth Paulyn and Huang Huangyan"

by Faith Ho

In this session, participants were fortunate to not only have one, but three speakers share their experiences. Firstly, the founder of Campus PSY, Mr Ming Xiu Cho, talked about what prompted him to start the organisation and the various measures for mental health they work on.

Campus PSY is a Youth Mental Health Organization that aims to promote mental health awareness and peer support among youths and young adults in the schools, workplaces and community through advocacy, training, support and volunteering to create an inclusive and supportive community for youths with mental health issues.

He elaborated on the measures that Campus PSY is taking to help students through Covid-19, such as E-PSY (a 1-stop online mental health peer support service) and Conversation Buddy PSY (equipping students with peer support skills) and shared his insights into the mental health space.

Next up was a sharing by Elizabeth, a current RI Y6 senior on her book “Embrace”, detailing her scoliosis journey. She shared on the various struggles she faced and how this impacted her mental health. For instance, wearing a back brace impacted her body image negatively, taking a toll on her mental wellbeing such that she would avoid going out with friends because of her self consciousness. She also “faced the day of [her] surgery with dread”. She expressed that she decided to share her experiences to have a positive influence on others, and highlighted how ultimately, despite the difficulties she faced, the biggest realisation she had was that scoliosis is but one part of her life.

Our last speaker was Huanyan, a RI alumnus who chronicled her struggles with an eating disorder in the book “Brave Girl Not Eating”. In it, she shared how she struggled with an eating disorder for 3 years in Secondary school (though signs of it had begun earlier than that), and her journey to recovery. She highlighted the role of counselors and a good support system, and even how social media did help – though she cautioned that one had to focus on the positive aspects and extract what was most useful, as some did perpetuate harmful narratives of eating disorders.

Finally, she gave different advice for students going through difficulties, such as the power of positive psychology, embracing individuality, broadening perspectives, and looking for alternative coping methods such as applying character strengths and reaching out to close friends for company. For friends, she shared that they should pay attention to behavioral changes and be an active listener, by tuning in to the conversation, empathising and learning how to ask good questions.

In the last segment, the Q&A, the speakers gave their responses to various questions. One that stood out was about how one can start sharing their story. While the speakers shared that it was scary because of the inadvertent fear of judgement, they urged participants to get the support of those around them, plan, and just make the leap of faith.