Being Chinese myself, I am well-aware of the insensitivity and ignorance of the Chinese community at large towards mental illness. However, having lived in North America for about thirty years, I am also aware that social stigma towards mental illness does exist in the so-called mainstream society. Social stigma may inhibit patients from seeking help in the initial stage and as a result, their illness may deteriorate. To try to end social stigma is perhaps one of my major reasons for writing this book.
A lot has been written about medical research in the field of psychiatry. But not many books have been written by psychiatric patients such as myself. Thus, to my mind, this memoir, THE TORMENTED MIND, could have health care professionals as well as the general public to understand more about the pain which a psychiatric patient has to go through during his time of crisis.
A final message which I hope to convey to psychiatric patients is NOT to give up hope. We may be disabled in the eyes of the others, but certainly NOT a waste. With determination and confidence, we should all try our best to build up courage and an inner strength to fight against discrimination towards mental illness.
