At a basic level, all drugs are "harmful" in that they seek to do something to your body that is not natural. In that sense, it is poisonous. But that doesn't make drugs bad. They clearly can be very helpful in making us better. A better question to ask is if taking the drug is risky, or if the pros of taking the drug outweigh the cons. In a general sense, all medication dispensed in Singapore is strictly regulated with that in mind. Drugs are only approved for use in the treatment of medical conditions if there is sufficient scientific evidence to demonstrate they are reasonably effective with manageable side-effects. A drug is "safe" in that the pros of taking the drug to treat a condition outnumber possible cons in the form of side-effects. That said, patients typically experience varying degrees of side-effects. This is particularly the case for psychiatric medication. Some experience none, others experience many, and the list of side-effects can be very long. To someone who experiences many side-effects which makes taking the drug unbearable, the drug may therefore seem "unsafe" if experiencing side-effects in the long-run is harmful. For example, prolonged weight problems, or insomnia, which some psychiatric medication can cause as a side-effect is probably harmful in the long run. Taking the drug might therefore not be a good idea as the risk of harm caused by side-effects could outweigh any positive benefit. There is also some concern that taking medication is unsafe as it could be addictive in the long-run. This is tricky to understand as the term "addiction" is often used interchangeably with "dependence". The difference between the two is an addiction involves craving the drug, whereas dependence doesn't. Psychiatric drugs are not addictive in the sense you will not crave them, like nicotine in cigarettes. There, however, are more studies now showing they can lead to dependence in the sense that your body will indeed get used to having them and suddenly stopping or dropping a dose could result in discomfort. This is called "discontinuation syndrome." It is difficult to anticipate who might experience this - some can stop taking psychiatric medication with no side-effects, whereas others will suffer from a whole host of side-effects with even the slightest drop. As such, the general advice to avoid this is to see your doctor regularly if you're taking psychiatric medication and to not change doses or stop taking it suddenly. A related question is whether psychiatric medication is effective. This is difficult to answer conclusively. There are many psychiatric conditions, many more psychiatric drugs, and even more types of patients. Unlike treating a broken bone, where what should be done is well established, treating mental health conditions involves a degree of trial and error unfortunately. My experience could be instructive. I suffer from depression, and I've gone through a long list of antidepressants. None of them really worked for me. That's not to say they didn't work for others. For every person who claimed an antidepressant did not work, you can find another who said it worked wonders for them. Anecdotes aside, scientific studies also do not offer more clarity. There are studies which show antidepressants work, and others which show they do not. I've personally concluded that drugs do not work for me. BUT this comes after many years of trying different medication and giving each a fair shake. The best one can do is to really listen to your body and make your own decision based on your own personal experience. What's important is you try to get better and not given up hope, recognising there are many ways to tackle a mental health challenge. The use of medication is only of several possible options to get better. For me, medication did very little for me, therapy helped a little, but regular exercise helped a lot more (in terms of immediate relief).

@thetapestryproject-sg I love how diverse the meaning of self-care is! You made me see how self-care is also self-defined. What replenishes one person may actually exhaust another! Interesting how we are all so different. My version of self-care is time in nature, taking a long walk. Most days I prefer being alone - that's my self-care. Every once in a while, I meet up with a friend whose company fills me - rather than empties me. That is self-care too.

It heartens us to see that your friend has the support of someone that genuinely cares for her wellbeing and it sensitive enough to know how your words can affect her. The first step to supporting a friend with depression, or any sort of mental health condition is to be patient and open-minded to honest conversations. If you're worried that your firmness might be causing her to feel worse, then try asking her directly how your words make her feel without expecting any reply of any kind. Encouraging this sort of honest back and fourth can be very helpful in establishing mutual understanding and creating a safe space between both of you.

Well presented story! The willingness to take action and do something in the face of a collective need, I think is exemplary volunteerism. The situations and circumstances in which you operate is of a severe nature and requires a level of commitment, daring, and confidence in taking on potentially life-threatening challenges. The call for training and support from medical professionals and hospitals I feel would directly benefit your volunteers in terms of confidence and capacity. Please keep an eye on how your volunteers are treated, there will always be situations that are beyond your collective capabilities and the emotional wellbeing of rescuers is often overlooked. Thank you for sharing this story, I hope you continue your outreach efforts. You're doing wonderful work!

Recovery to us is less a goal and more a healthy state of mind. Think about what a happy day looks like; recovery to us is just about having more good than bad days. This is not to say that bad days will never happen again. However, building mental resilience means we can identify our bad days and have positive strategies and good habits to get us through these tough times! Recovery is also accepting that we deserve all our good days as the norm.

@Zah I salute you for being appreciative. God loves us all. TC and be safe always. Don't worry too much. Rain do pour out to give life to plants and sunshine to help them produce their food, thus, there is no reason for you to worry for everything is in accordance to His will. Sending our love and hugs ...

@emiedecastro For me, I would really consider the faith and the belief system of the person before saying anything God-related. I totally agree with what you said about encouraging medical/professional advice though! And I'd add, we need to listen - really listen - to our friend and try to look at things from our friend's perspective and not our own.

@Lin-Yanqin thanks for sharing! I shall be brave and find out how badly I'm damaging the planet =/

@Lin-Yanqin Sounds like a great place to venture with my little one, without the hassle of flying. Thank you for these suggestions!

It's great that you're thinking about the unethical side of overseas volunteering, Yanqin! I think firstly, we need to ask ourselves what skills do we have to contribute during the volunteer trip, that is in-demand in the host village/country and when carried out, will positively impact the community we are trying to help. Why should we spend $7-800 to fly down to build a well, when the locals can do it 10x faster? Instead of teaching the students English, why not plan some sort of curriculum for the teachers, or maybe even partner with a local university to come up with a long-lasting education plan? Keywords here are continuity, longevity & efficient allocation of resources (so that both sides benefit!) Hope this helped

@lynnchan @Sharon-Lok yes me too! experienced the same thing in Sapa, Vietnam, and it was the only thing that made the trip unpleasant. I decided not to buy because (1) I really had no need for these souvenirs (2) I didn't want all the other vendors to target me and (3) to do so may encourage more locals to start selling souvenirs.. and I'm sure there are other means of livelihood that are more sustainable, generate less waste and not dependent on the tourist dollar.

@Rebecca-Lim This is such a relatable question! When it comes to packing for my travels, I try to plan my outfits for each day, and pack them in a single Ziplock bag so that it’s easier to pull them out without having to unpack my entire luggage. I tried switching to cloth packing cubes, but found that it takes up more space than a Ziplock would, because of the air it packs into your luggage. I have reverted back to using Ziplock bags since. I try to reuse them during the trip by using them to pack my clothes at the end of my travels, but I still end up creating a lot of waste. What else can I do? Love to hear your suggestions if any, @Sharon-Lok! Thanks in advance

@Eelin-Ong You can go to this page on their site, search by country and you'll find the location of little free libraries across the world, including Asia! https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/

@Lin-Yanqin Thanks! I'll bear this in mind when considering whether i hire a car or take the train .