On Tuesday March 20th, Xiaojie, our founder and director, was invited to speak at the Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon. We were joined by 15 participants to discuss the ongoing Candlex Support Meetings at the Beijing Lufthansa Center Kempinski Hotel.
Although it was a short gathering, it was, nonetheless, very rewarding. Xiaojie first introduced herself and CandleX, then continued to discuss her teachings and learnings from the support group meetings: who attends, what happens during these meetings, why people choose to attend and how they provide support. She explained that hearing the stories told during these sessions always strikes a chord in her heart; seeing others open up and be vulnerable seems to be therapeutic for many of the participants, including Xiaojie herself. After 30 minutes of Xiaojie’s introduction, the talk proceeded to a short Q&A session, where members of the Rotary Club asked Xiaojie questions such as the Chinese social norm and culture around mental health, and the individual and social support for people with mental illness.
This event was certainly a great way for CandleX to be involved with our local community. It is always so lovely to see people interested and willing to engage with discussing mental illness. CandleX works for the benefit of you, and through advocating this awareness for three years now, we’ve realized that without it is only with the avid support and enthusiasm of organizations in our community are we able to thrive.
Before the end of the session, the ultimate concluding note for everyone was “What is the plan for preserving your emotional wellbeing?” We hope that this event was beneficial for all that attended. For anyone interested in participating in similar events in the future, keep an eye out for our regular updates by subscribing to our Wechat account, and please do not hesitate to partake in our biweekly support group meetings if you going through depression and severe anxiety. We look forward to seeing many of you there!
