Coping with the physical and emotional toll of mental illness has a degree of stigma, but it can be especially challenging for celebrities who  are always in the public eye, as we have learned from the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Checking into a hospital or a rehab can pretty quickly become a hot topic for headlines.  Kate spade was so worried about her brand image that she resisted help. However, in this age of internet technology, a strategy of long-distance healing can emerge as a powerful alternative solution.  A celebrity hiding from a public view, or anyone else concerned with shame around acknowledging mental illness, can now receive help and support in the privacy of their home or in a hotel room while traveling. All they need is their computer or a smartphone. Furthermore, I have experienced individuals secretly reaching out to me from within rehab centers and institutions, looking for an alternative treatment, as they come to the realization that the drugs or therapy they're undertaking were not successfully treating them. I’ll never forget one such phone call I received while on vacation - a secret cell phone call ffrom within a mental institution, a young woman desperate for healing sessions as she was refusing her medications that had been giving her terrible side effects. I was so touched and inspired I couldn’t refuse; she was released several weeks later. The healing method that was so effective, is a powerful Energy Restructuring system, that I’ve developed over the course of 30 years, in order to help individuals recover from complex trauma.

Pong Nan, is a Hong Kong Pop Star, a talented singer, musician and a lyricist.  It has been just over one year, since we began our Energy Restructuring healing sessions, and from the start it was a relationship shrouded in secrecy.  Only a couple of very close family members knew. I was connecting on Skype from Boston with him in Canada, where he had retreated far away from the public eye and paparazzi. He crashed four years ago, and for the three years that followed he tried every possible treatment that was available in Hong Kong, Canada and the US; but to no avail. The failure of the treatments only created additional pain, disappointment, trauma, and a degree of public embarrassment. The first time we talked, he told me right away that this was his last hope. Thankfully his hope was regained. Three months ago, after we healed all the trauma that lead to the crash, including the PTSD caused by unsuccessful treatments, he returned home to Hong Kong to begin rebuilding his career. Now he is a changed man on a mission to be a spokesmen for removing the stigma around mental health in Chinese society, which traditionally tends to repress emotions. So, when the news of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain broke out, he opened up in a powerful blog that went viral in Hong Kong. Below is the translation from from Chinese to English that he provided to me. Our relationship no longer being a secret, I can proudly share with you, the words of Pong Nan, as he reveals himself to the world with honesty and vulnerability. I am so incredibly proud of you dear Pong. You are truly an inspiration to all of us.

Nothing To Be Ashamed Of (Pong Nan's Story)

Over the past week we lost Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, two very successful and talented people. They both ended their own lives. In an article about Kate Spade, a family member shared that she had battled mental illness, but was afraid of damaging her brand’s happy joyful image, preventing her from getting help. And, according to people around Anthony Bourdain, even though he successfully battled his drug addiction in the past, before his passing, he told no one that there was anything wrong with him. They all lamented that only if he would say something, he would get help. It is a pity that this society is still stigmatizing mental illness; still views it is as a very shameful thing. This is something that I have experienced myself, and truly understand.

In 2014 when I was promoting my last album, I was already crashing, and due to exhaustion I got admitted to the hospital, where one of the doctors said, “Pong, don’t tell people something is wrong with you, this will damage your career." In 2016 When I was planning to come up with a new album, one of the top executives at my record label told to my friends and colleagues  and coworkers, "Don’t let Pong tell anything about his illness, and about what happened to him. Just say that he needs a rest and talk about it as lightly as you can. And, last year my dad’s working partner gave me this instruction. “Pong, do not talk about your mental illness on social media, that would hurt your Dad’s business.” And, even recently someone from within the music industry told me, "when you come back out to perform, if you talk about your illness, the reporters will be asking you about it continuously, and you will be categorized as someone with a problem. So, for many years I suffered this in silence.” I just want to say the moment when I started my recovery, is the moment when when I started being honest with myself and with other people about having a mental illness. And, for the past half year or so, every time I openly shared my experience on social medial, I felt that it took a weight off my shoulders, and I felt a lot lighter.

Throughout 2015 when I was seeing a psychiatrist, and was sneaking in and out of the back door of his office so that people would not see me, I was completely not accepting the fact that I had mental illness. I thought it was very shameful. I thought I had a character flaw. And now, when I am sharing my recovery process at ease with all of you, it is because I have met several people who have had the same experience, and willingly shared their experiences with me, making me feel that there is nothing to be ashamed of. It made me more willing to deal with it and treat it. So, I’ve been sharing my story on social media in recent days. Yes, it may affect my career, it may effect my reputation, or it may even effect my family members and my co-workers. But, no matter how small my voice is, if can awaken a society that does not like to talk about it, that does not like to know about... if I could influence really desperate people to be able to seek help, or even if I can save any one single life, any impact I may have made to my career or my reputation would be of insignificant consequence compared to this. So, to anyone who is suffering, please remember seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but on the contrary is a sign of strength. And, it is just an illness, not a black mark.