Little Miss Honey

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DEPRESSION & THE DIFFERENT SHADES OF MELANCHOLY OF LIVING ABROAD

July 1, 2018 by Little Miss Honey 3,072 Comments

Last month, we heard devastating news of famous successful rich people passing away. Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, beloved & admired, committed suicide due to that evil monster called depression. There are more people suffering from it that we don’t know, just silently suffering. Statistics shows that there are 300 million people around the world have depression, according to the World Health Organization.

from www.cnn.com

from: www.vogue.co.uk

Some people who never experienced depression or that extreme sadness would never understand it and would often brush off as ‘a silly emotion’ that will just go away. But I have to tell you, it is not as easy as sweeping dust off the table with your hand.

I had my bouts of depressive state when I stated medical school. It was one of the stressful phases in my life. The pressure was overwhelming that I would have night terrors literally every night and my anxieties were over the roof. I needed help and did asked for help. It got a bit better when I relaxed a bit and didn’t chased for high grades anymore. Yes, my academic ranking suffered. I was surprised I survived medical school inspite of it. But at least, I kept my wits intact and any possibility of nervous breakdown was contained. Maybe that’s why I got so interested in psychiatry in the first place. However, I eventually didn’t pursue it and turned to Family Medicine instead.

Credit: Death by Stock

As a doctor, allow me to give you a little lecture on depression. A person who suffers from a major depressive disorder (sometimes also referred to as clinical depression or simply depression) must either have a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities consistently for at least a 2 week period. This depressed mood must represent a significant change from the person’s normal mood. To be diagnosed as a clinical depression, it must have the presence of 5 or more of these depressive symptoms:

▪ Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feeling sad, blue, “down in the dumps,” or empty) or observations made by others (e.g., appears tearful or about to cry). (In children and adolescents, this may present as an irritable or cranky, rather than sad, mood.)

▪ Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities every day, such as no interest in hobbies, sports, or other things the person used to enjoy doing

▪ Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5 percent of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day

▪ Insomnia (inability to get to sleep or difficulty staying asleep) or hypersomnia (sleeping too much) nearly every day

▪ More days than not, problems with sitting still, including constant restlessness, pacing, or picking at one’s cloths (called psychomtotor agitation by professionals); or the opposite, a slowing of one’s movements, talking very quietly with slowed speech (called psychomotor retardation by professionals)

▪ Fatigue, tiredness, or loss of energy nearly every day — even the smallest tasks, like dressing or washing, seem difficult to do and take longer than usual

▪ Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt nearly every day (e.g., ruminating over minor past failings)

▪ Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (e.g., appears easily distracted, complains of memory difficulties)

▪ Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideas without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide

*Taken from Psychcentral.com

Depression is real. It is a serious chemical deficiency in the human brain. Factors contributing to it could be stress, genetics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical conditions, grief or difficult life circumstances. It is a horrible condition that may affect anyone, even if you are rich, beautiful, talented or successful. Just look at Kate and Anthony.

I am sure there are more people out there silently suffering. Crying quietly behind closed doors, faking their smiles, cutting themselves, acting out, struggling and hoping you will hear their silent plea. There is such thing as a high-functioning depressive. It made me think that one of the susceptible people who would be afflicted with depression are people who are living abroad, expats who uproot themselves from their home country for better work opportunities abroad, foreigner adjusting to new cultures, belief & way of life and lonely folks trying to find new friends in their new life.

Depression Winter

Here are few tips to prevent depression living abroad:

1. Make new friends and make time for friends

2. Exercise or get your body moving

3. Eat a balanced diet and avoid processed food

4. Pray

5. Meditate and practice mindfulness

6. Get some sunshine. (Could be hard for countries with long winter)

7. Schedule pampering session

8. Take a break from work

9. Start a new hobby

10. Join organization of your interest

11. Spend time with a person with a positive outlook in life

12. Look at life in the eyes of a child

13. Get adequate sleep

14. Avoid too much vices

15. Seek help if needed

If you feel like you need professional help and have recurring thoughts of ending your life, please reach out to the organizations below:

• Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

• CHAT @ *SCAPE: (+65) 6493 6500, (+65) 6493 6501

• SAF Counselling Hotline: 1800-278-0022

Filed Under: Expat Diaries, Inspirations Tagged With: Anthony Bourdain, depression, Kate Spade, korea, Mental Health, seoul, Suicide, Winter

LAST NIGHT IN SEOUL AND TIPS IN TRAVELLING WITH KIDS IN KOREA DURING WINTER

March 26, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 1,437 Comments

Seoul, Korea

It was our last whole day in Seoul. We were already missing Seoul even if we haven’t left it yet. We have come to love the country in our short stay. We like the surroundings, the people, the food and the beautiful snowy weather even if it gets too cold at times. The very next day is officially our last day in Seoul which will be spent in last minutes packing, luggage checks and we will be off to the airport.

For our last 24hrs in Seoul, we were suppose to go to the Children’s Grand Park but we decided last minute to spend it in a leisurely in Lotte Mall and buy some souvenirs.

We started the day late. We headed to Myeongdong to go to the malls. We checked out Lotte Young Mall which is more of high-end merchandise and then we also checked out the Lotte Duty Free but we didn’t buy anything there.

We had lunch at Lotte Mall Food Court. We like the bento box choose-your-own-food kiosk. It had generous portions. We love it! A nice old lady sat on our table and ate with us. She was lovely woman to chat with. She was talking about her kids and Korea.

Korean Food

Korean Food

We roam around for a bit and we had the soft Bake Tart and Godiva Ice Cream for snacks. We did some groceries of Korean snacks to take home to Singapore.

Korean Food

When we were done, we walked back to the hotel because it wasn’t that far off. We spend the rest of the night just relaxing in our hotel room.

Yes, J and I survived the 7 days travelling on winter with kids. Here are some tips for courageous parents planning on a trip with your youngsters soon:

1. Make your itinerary flexible

2. You and your spouse should have teamwork. Help each other out and have designated roles.

3. Buy proper warm clothes & jacket with clothes and bonnet for your kids. Have a shawl or blanket on standby.

4. Bring lots of heat packs.

5. Bring along some snacks (for bribing, hehe)

6. Always have a wet wipes on standby.

7. Make sure they get their good night sleep or don’t start the day too early.

8. Bring along a small toy for each kid.

9. Use a carrier. When we went to Nami Island, we brought two strollers. It was such a pain. We learned our lesson and I used the carrier instead. FYI, most of the MRT Station doesn’t have lift so poor hubby have to carry our toddler on his stroller on the long plight of stairs.

10. Only one of you bring a big bag or backpack for all the kids stuff when going about town while the other have a wristlet back. That system has worked for me and my hubby. He carries the backpack and I get the stuff out from his backpack.

11. Rest, when the kids are tired.

12. Don’t overpacked the day with too many things to do.

13. Do your research properly before going on the trip.

14. Book a late night flight as much as possible.

15. Just enjoy, no matter what.

My hubby created an awesome video montage on our Korea trip but unfortunately, the video was accidentally deleted on our file. It breaks our heart especially since my husband worked so hard on it. We would love to have shared it with you guys.

Seoul is marked as one of our favorite cities we ever visited. We can’t wait to come back someday. Maybe when the kids are a bit bigger so no more strollers or carriers needed.

Seoul, Korea

Thank you Seoul for the beautiful welcome, your warm kindness and abundant generosity! Gomabseubnida!

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: koream myeongdong, korean snacks, lotte mall, lotte young plaza, seoul

KOREA TRIP DAY 4: TOSOKCHON, GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE

March 23, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 1,944 Comments

Gyeongbokgung Palace

We woke up on our 4th day in Seoul to a snow-covered city. It is such a pretty sight. The roofs of establishments, roof of cars, the trees and pavement are covered with white powdery snow.

Snow in Korea

We lazed around for a bit in our beds and occasionally opening the window to see the remnants of the melting snow.  We bathed and wrap ourselves with winter wear and then we headed out. We said that we might not have experience snow but at least we saw what snow looks like, hehe.

Snow in Korea

Snow in Korea

Snow in Korea

For the day, we were having lunch at Tosokchon. It is famous for its Samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup. It is found by going down Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 2 then go straight about 170 m and turn left to Jahamun-ro-5-gil Road. Tosokchon is located at the left where you find a long queue of people.

Tosokchon

But good thing is that the queue moves very fast and soon, we got our tables. You dine in tatami style in Tosokchon. Fynn wants to walk around and grabbing bowls and utensils everywhere, haha.

Tosokchon

We ordered 2 Samgyetang, 1 Haemul Paejon ( Green Onion Pancake with Seafood) and 1 roasted chicken. It was such a sumptuous meal. I love the broth of the ginseng chicken and the glutinous rice tucked inside it. The roasted chicken was really yummy too. It was soft, juicy and flavorful. The pancake was huge! It was so filling.

Tosokchon

Tosokchon

Tosokchon

After our wonderful meal, we walked to the Gyeongbokgung Palace which is just near by. Thankful for the Changi Recommends portable wifi, it helped a lot in taking us to where we wanna go. There was a thick piles of snow in the entrance of the palace. We couldn’t help but take photos of it.  We may sound like country bumpkins being so mesmerize by the presence of snow. Haha!

Snow in Korea

Snow in Korea

We got our tickets first which cost 3,000 KRW and of course, our kids again got a free pass. Remember that on Tuesday, Gyeongbokgung Palace is closed.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is the main and largest royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. There were several tourists there where hanbok and having professional photographers taking their photos. I was hoping to witness the changing guards which I thought are scheduled at 10:00 AM, 13:00 PM and 15:00 PM daily except Tuesday it was 3PM and still changing guards.

So just we took photos of the Palace and the King’s throne. Naj played with more snow and he started crying because the snow was seeping in his gloves and it was too cold. J have to remove his gloves and gave him heat packs for his hands. Naj finally was soothed.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

We roamed around for a bit and took more photos. On our way back to the MRT, I bought coffee from this cute cafe shop which I failed to take photos of and hang out at Dunkin Donuts for snacks for my boys.

We went back to Insadong to buy some stuff. I wanted to try going to this Poop Cafe located in Ssamziegil Mall which in found in the heart of Insadong.

The Poop Cafe is found at the back of Ssamziegil. There were plight of wooden stairs going there. There were sounds of pooping sounds going up to the cafe. The waiter unfortunately told us that kids are not allowed to enter so we just headed back to our hotel instead.

For dinner, I thought of buying take-outs for us. I left my boys in the hotel while I ventured out to Dongdaemun which is very near anyway. I bought some bonchon chicken at Kyochon. Dongdaemun is known for retail shopping up until 1AM. I found lots of restaurant open 24 hours or until 1 AM.

I went back to the hotel and had a hearty picnic with my boys in the hotel carpet. I love Kyochon Fried Chicken. I love the flavor though Bonchon and 4 Fingers are still more crunchy. But either ways, we were so full with our hotel picnic dinner which watching HBO movie.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: changi recommends, Dongdaemon, Dunkin Donuts, family, family travel, Gyeongbokgung Palace, insadong, korea, Korean Chicken, Kyochon, seoul, snow, toskochon, Tosokchon, winter travel

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Hi I'm Honey! I am a Filipina who has studied & lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years, worked in Singapore and is currently based in Oman with my husband & our three little boys. I am a medical doctor, a lifestyle blogger, travel junkie, a foodie and a bookworm. I hope I can drizzle a bit of sunshine and inspirations whenever you drop by my blog. Thanks for dropping by! See ya soon.. :)
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