Thank you to the curators of TEDxLPCUWC Youth for inviting me to speak at their TEDx event at Li Po Chun United World College yesterday! The best thing about doing a TEDx is meeting and listening to the other speakers interpret the same theme in their own unique way. The theme for this one was A Fractal of Perspectives, which meant the first thing I had to do was google ‘fractal’ and the second thing I had to do was google ‘how to use fractal in a sentence’. (The speech kind of wrote itself from there.)

I’m so grateful to have had this experience that was inspiring, uplifting and often hilarious! Congratulations to the student organisers and volunteers who did such an incredible job, coping with technical difficulties, and thanks to the amazing audience! This included my pal Philippe who had travelled all the way from DB to remind me “Just remember to stand in the big red box!” Unfortunately, I have never managed to stay in the box my entire life – and this experience proved no exception.

Most of all, thanks to Joanna Jayalakshman Mohan for coming to the WiPS launch of Imprint 22 at the HK Lit Fest, which kickstarted my TEDx interlude, and for bringing it to a fitting conclusion with the following conversation:

Me: Hey, we should meet up for a drink some time!

Her: Sure, that would be great as soon as I turn 18!

Me: 😮

(If you want people to guess you’re underage, here’s a tip: don’t use words like ‘fractal’! 😂 I had just assumed they were young-looking PhD students…)

So, that’s how my first TEDx ended. Not with champagne but with the creeping realisation I had been caught corrupting a minor. 🤣🤣🤣

https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/56987

Thanks to the SCMP for publishing this piece in which I attempt to explain bipolar disorder in their Health & Wellness section today! Also for reminding me that I founded Bipolar Hong Kong in 2014. That is TEN YEARS AGO!!!! A DECADE of support groups in Starbucks without any of us having bought a coffee! 🤣

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3253446/what-bipolar-disorder-types-symptoms-and-causes-condition-affecting-kanye-west-and-selena-gomez-and

It was the second chat I’ve had with journalist Anthea Rowan about bipolar and a pleasure reconnecting! Our first in 2021 can be found here.

I will be reading one of my strange experimental poems at a poetry event organised by Mind HK in Central Nov 24! The Healing Power of Words is part of an exhibition of art and letters by Mind HK ambassadors to celebrate the first anniversary of the charity’s More Than A Label anti-stigma campaign. Please join me and support Mind! I’m not really a poet but I will be pretending to be one by shouting and wearing a hat.

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-for-mental-health-the-healing-power-of-words-tickets-467482271057

Really inspired attending HKU’s Bipolar Ambition Exhibition last week featuring the work of two Bipolar Hong Kong and Mental Ideas artists – the super-talented Coby Legans and Juliana Kung!!! Coby has been one of Bipolar HK’s longest and most giving members, although we did recently lose her to Perth, Australia, where she’s training to be a mental health counsellor, and Juliana has shared her artwork with Mental Ideas and designed Home Kong Kitchen‘s stunning emblem!

It takes a lot of courage putting yourself out there as a bipolar artist in order to raise awareness and fight the stigma associated with the condition and so hats off to Coby, Juliana, and all the other incredible artists who exhibited their artwork, some of whom we were lucky enough to hang out with! The sky at HKU was almost as memorable as the artwork, too, just as a typhoon came rolling in…

Thanks to the South China Morning Post for publishing my ‘Rant‘ in last Sunday’s Post Magazine! I press buttons and rant the case for a new psychiatric term for ‘bipolar’. Your suggestions are welcome! Topping my shortlist is ‘Swingers’. It also has a double meaning, but at least it’s sexier than the spectre of nuclear attack…

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3181151/im-bipolar-and-seeing-word-headlines-divided

There’s nothing I enjoy more in life than having a good rant! So thanks to the South China Morning Post for giving me an opportunity to have a cheeky ‘Bipolar Word’ in the ‘RANT’ section of Post Mag May 1st! This is the first opportunity the SCMP have given me to be anything other than a clown. I’m not suggesting ranting is bonafide journalism but it’s almost certainly the closest I’ll get to it.

Aiya – I have just heard from the editor that my rant has been bumped from May 1st for something more “time sensitive” (it better not be another u-turn on lifting Covid restrictions by Carrie Lam!!!) He’s promised me my rant will be published “very soon”, so hopefully the following Sunday, or the Sunday after that, or definitely before the end of 2047. Sorry!!

In the meantime, here are a couple of my old bipolar rants in SCMP articles I did not write myself…

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3120634/bipolar-disorder-sufferers-and-medical-experts-share-how

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2041246/how-bipolar-sufferer-came-down-earth-after-flight

Transference, the bipolar love story I co-produced in 2020 with Contro Vento Films, was one of the first films to be shown at the 2021 Arizona International Film Festival, which kicked off April 14! Director and actor Raffaello Degruttola gave an illuminating webinar on his inspirations behind the film on Zoom @ 3pm PST on Saturday. If you missed it, please don’t cry! You can still catch it on the festival’s YouTube channel for at least another week!

Thanks to the festival for selecting Transference (originally for its 2020 film festival, which was cancelled because of COVID) and to the Tuscon Weekly for mentioning our micro budget indie film in their article about the festival!

https://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2021/04/12/2021-arizona-international-film-festival-begins-this-week

http://film-directory.britishcouncil.org/transference-a-bipolar-love-story

Is it my bipolar mind playing tricks on me or are there now more awareness days than unawareness days? What about an Unawareness Awareness Day? Has anybody had the awareness or unawareness to think of that? If there is an Unawareness Awareness Day, I am unaware of it.

NoooooooOOOOOOO! I missed Bipolar Awareness Day March 30! But I wish you all a happy Bipolar Unawareness Day today. To mark the un-occasion, I did some digging and found my elusive, best ever screenshot of Bipolar Express in Dropbox. You don’t get much more educaitonal than THIS!

Sadly, it was swiftly amended by somebody who doesn’t enjoy an amusing typo as much as I do. I just didn’t see the point of subscribing after that…

Of course EVERY day is Bipolar Awareness Day if you have bipolar or care for somebody who does. And you shouldn’t have to face it alone!

Bipolar Hong Kong 躁鬱香港 started out as my humble blog in a some might say losing battle to try and keep myself sane. Over the past 7 years it has evolved into a leaderless movement of likeminded souls searching for enlightenment, empowerment and a platform to connect.

The group offers free, monthly support groups in Central and (since 2020) on Zoom for Hongkongers affected by bipolar disorder, their friends and families, including peer mentoring, the odd socially distanced social, and access to creative opportunities via Mental Ideas. If you’re looking for peer support, a chance to vent and share ideas, join us!

Everybody welcome!

hello@bipolarhk.com

https://bipolarhk.com

Bipolar Express on RTHK Radio 3 Teaser

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3120634/bipolar-disorder-sufferers-and-medical-experts-share-how

https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/bipolar_express