Shall We Talk：Perfect Imperfection

Episode 3 “Perfect Imperfection”
Guests: WONG Yan-lung X CHENG Chung-yan

WONG Yan-lung is the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health. Social worker CHENG Chung-yan has all along been paying attention to how the community self-help mental rehabilitation services complemented the Government services for many years, and he is a person with lived experience. From the government system to community self-help, WONG and CHENG became “Friends for a Day”.

Some people can grow and transform, and some people can be themselves, so both types are worthy to appreciate and they are perfect people. On the other hand, people have times of troubles and times of injuries, and they do have many limitations, and thus they have to accept their own imperfection.

Ruby is a painting teacher of dissociation with multiple personality, and she has dissociated into different personalities due to past trauma. She uses art to heal her pain, express the words in her heart, and let her different personalities present herself and express herself.

CHENG Chung-yan’s girlfriend Edith is also a social worker, and she has also experienced depression before. Edith has also explored mental health care by appreciating and drawing paintings, and stepped out of depression.

Ruby will teach WONG Yan-lung, CHENG Chung-yan and Edith to draw pastel finger painting. During the process, the importance of mental health care can be brought out from the perspective of a person with lived experience. WONG will disclose that he was also a perfectionist who had high demands on himself when he was at school. CHENG will share his pains caused by his perfectionism. It turns out that calligraphy, photography and painting can make him forget his worries and get out of the haze of trouble.

The four of them have tea together after painting. They will talk about their previous experience of medical treatment within the government system, but now they have learned how to get along with themselves.

The government service system has imperfection, and it needs to work with people with lived experience and the community to build a physically and mentally healthy society.