Untold stories of struggling Hong Kong mothers: Bless So Free project offers recovery from mental illness through handicrafts
- Non-profit group is helping women come to terms with mental health issues through sharing stories and art
When housewife Susan (not her real name) was woken by a call at 10am on a breezy Saturday in January last year, she did not know her life was about to be thrown into turmoil.
The call was from her husband’s phone, but at the other end of the line was a policeman. The officer told Susan that her husband had tripped and injured his head while playing golf.
The freak accident has left him in a coma since that fateful day and taken Susan, 47, on an emotional roller-coaster, forcing her to adjust to a life where she became the family’s sole breadwinner and carer of their 15-year-old daughter.
As she struggled with the new challenges while worrying if her husband would ever regain consciousness, she spiralled into depression.
“I wished I could shut myself from the world. I didn’t want to meet people, and couldn’t accept what happened,” she recalls.
“A friend suggested that I see a therapist, but I got so angry, My reaction was: are you crazy? I have no money now, and how could a doctor possibly help me?”
