Mental Health @ WA FADS

I just resigned a few hours ago. Deliberate is not a word that I'm going to use because I didn't feel anything. The feelings that I can describe right now is calm and peaceful. Those are good feelings.

If there was a background story behind my resignation, it would centre around my visit to WA's Food and Drink Symposium (WA FADS). The reminder was that to be happy, you need to be able to be yourself at your workplace. That was something that was lost to me a long time ago. It used to be fun, great and amazing. Then the company grew bigger and I couldn't handle the pressure piled on to me. Of course there were more stories to it than just "more pressure" :-).

At WA FADS, Ben Shewry from Attica Melbourne was sharing about his mental health story. Not only that, he was also sharing a very raw personal story about his friend. I sat in my chair, bawling my eyes out because I knew that mental health is a very real issue, one that I battled too. It was a battle that could take your real personality and changed it into a monster.

A lot of speakers at WA FADS touched me with their stories about finding happiness. Like them, I can also find happiness and be myself in my happy place.

El Publico's Sam Ward left a great piece of advice at the end of his talk. He said that when everything else around you goes wrong, still remember and be proud of who you are.

I resigned without knowing when will I get a job or what will I do in the future. One thing that I know is that I need to take a small stepforward in faith. And WA FADS, thank you for arranging an inspiring session.

I'll write more about what I learnt in the next post :-)