Testimonies
Chris Tan
In Oct 2005, my life was turned upside down after an acute right-brain stroke left me half paralyzed. Then in 2007, my ex-wife filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. This marital shock, coupled with losing my job in the same year, sent me on a tailspin of Clinical Depression – which I have struggled with for the last 12 years. Coming to PSALT Care helped me to realize I wasn’t alone in my struggles. The fortnightly Peer Support group provided a safe space for me to share my struggles and learn from other peers with similar struggles like mine. Together, we become stronger and resilient to adversities.
PSALT Care is a uniquely valued resource for peer support members in their journey to mental wellness and recovery. It adopts a person-centric approach that is bottom-up in orientation and grounded on volunteering facilitation and community building and offers a myriad of holistic therapies. This approach is refreshing, effective and empowering for members in healing and leading dignified and fulfilling lives. It unites people, on the universality of their humanity, even as they encounter a diversity of emotional states and experiences.
Being peer support driven, there is a rich depth and myriad of personal experiences and challenges to draw upon. As well as being open, its welcoming and non-judgmental environment facilitates deep and honest discussions that are instrumental to recovery. This contrasts with typical therapeutic/institutional relationships which have asymmetry and hierarchy and can be restrictive in ways.
I came to PSALT Care’s support group when I realised I needed to heal from certain traumas in my childhood that have continued to haunt me and affect my life. Since my teenage years, I have struggled with low mood, the tendency to isolate myself and suicidal thoughts. All these years, I have been a loner, feeling different from everyone else. Even though outwardly I have a job and have some friends, I always felt disconnected from life. I have also struggled with intense anxiety and gastro-intestinal disorders since I was 9. Coming from a family with two aunts who suffered severe mental illness, I wondered if I myself might have a condition.
Before I start this testimonial, I would like to introduce myself and how I got acquainted with PSALT Care. I was a Teacher with MOE before leaving my job in 2015 to take a much needed break. Through a whatapp chat group, I came to know about Zentangle and then about PSALT Care. I will enunciate the factors by which PSALT Care has been able to provide strength and guidance to all it members in the following paragraphs. First of all, Ms Rosalind who facilitates the sessions is very open, firm and caring. The trust that her way of being builds allows most of the participants to speak up and share.
For most of 2015, I was adjusting to having my first child. I felt that my challenges were unique to myself and was experiencing a lot of negative feelings about the adjustment, and a loss of control at my circumstances. I lacked an inner strength to face up to the current situation and was feeling very low and struggling through everyday life feeling alone. I felt encountering PSALT Care was part of my life’s turnaround. I first attended a session in November 2015. Upon reflection, I felt the session kick-started my recovery from the major depressive episode. The facilitator shared extensively about the ground rules for the session and the purpose of the session. With her positive language, she made each individual present in the room a valuable person, and not there because he or she was feeling ill.
I see PSALT Care as a place where hope is revitalized for the Peers it supports. In my opinion, PSALT Care fills a glaring gap that the current mental health scene has failed to fill. It is a place for fellow peers to gather and support each other. I have been a regular participant in both the Peer Support group as well as its Christian Support Group held monthly where I have seen for myself how peers help and support one another. PSALT Care also offer ample opportunities and subsidies for peers to explore holistic alternatives such as Psychodrama, Zentangle and Somatic dance, aiding our recovery journey.
A little less than a year ago, following a series of emotionally and mentally drained events. I knew that I needed to find the strength to continue living. Out of sheer desperation, I came upon PSALT Care peer support. Over the past 6 months, Rosalind, Chris and Vincent from PSALT Care who were volunteering for it has led and shared their valuable insights and knowledge on coping skills with myself and other peers who have similar mental health struggles.
