Lesley Chiang overcame depression and became a mental health awareness advocate – Hong Kong singer-actress on how a song saved her life
- The end of a relationship tipped actress and singer-songwriter Lesley Chiang into depression, and in 2014 she considered jumping from her balcony
- Now happy and thriving, she works with a charity to raise awareness of mental health issues in Asia, where depression and therapy are not much talked about
It’s hard to believe, looking at the sunny Lesley Chiang Li-wen, that the Hong Kong actress and singer-songwriter has contemplated suicide not once, but three times.
In the years since 2014, when she considered jumping from her balcony, she has found peace through counselling, exercising, journaling, sleeping well and the support of her fiancé. Now she wants to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Chiang, also known as Keung Lai-man, attended the 2019 Mind HK Media Awards at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) in Hong Kong in February this year to speak about the portrayal of mental health issues in the media. In an emotional speech about her battle with depression, she recalled the first time she found herself ready to attempt suicide.
After the end of a serious relationship, Chiang, then 28, spiralled into depression. “Dark thoughts became a regular thing,” she said, which included feeling like “rubbish that needed to be disposed of”.
One night, she wrote goodbye letters to her loved ones, and penned lines to what she thought would be her final song, Tonight, which had lyrics like: “Say goodbye tonight, I’m jumping tonight”.
