Until my college days, I had various “youth mental health difficulties” (too many to enumerate:) and now I feel confident enough to offer my strength and helping help to the struggling, sinking, drowning young people esp. if it happens in my family.

Visible progress!

I wonder what specific things “rescued” me.

• self-care, as described in the BBC program https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001f1g
• confidence in my health as in freedom from illness. I no longer feel like a weakling.
• self-confidence in my stamina (not only in jogging) and absorbency
• self-confidence in my diet control, weight control, yoga
• (.. A lot of the above are related to locus-of-control)
• expressive-writing : resonating with me — my capacity to write in English (and Chinese) to give expression to my conflicts, confusions, frustrations, doubts, anxieties/depressions, self-hates, … I started with handbooks and then found a superior combination of text editor and file system (“recoll”)
• deeply introspective blogging on a wide range of topics, as a form of self-healing, self-counseling
• –Here are Some of the fundamental changes introduced into my system. Out of dozens of self-help books I have read, the most therapeutic are all highly cognitive in nature, and all written by Western psychologists.
• 1. LetGo, mellowing, takeItEasy — thanks to Theodore Issac Rubin
• 2. optimistic explanatory style
• 3. positive self-talk — thanks to the book [[talking to yourself]]
• 4. To a less extent, I also relied on counselors, SOS hotlines, and listening friends/family, but mostly in my younger days.
• my successful experiences helping multiple friends get jobs, or forming partnerships