Vibe Check: Mental health professionals’ advice for startup life

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Vibe Check: Mental Health in the Startup World is a Tech in Asia podcast where writer and editor Winston Zhang speaks to startup leaders and mental health professionals to see what he can learn from them when it comes to managing his mental well-being.

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The changing attitudes around mental health probably serve as a kind of validation for mental health professionals. Finally, the general public understands the importance of mental well-being and are educating themselves on the topic.

However, this doesn’t mean that all’s good now. Many still cope with stress or self-medicate in ways that are counterproductive, and accessibility remains an issue. In the pursuit of various life goals, people still neglect to check in with themselves regularly, allowing mental health issues to fester.

In this final episode of Vibe Check: Mental Health in the Startup World, Drs. Ken Ung and Oliver Suendermann share the mental health professionals’ perspective on where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and how we can all take better care of ourselves.

Timecodes:

00:00 – Intro music
00:28 – Hi, I’m Winston
01:54 – Welcome to Vibe Check
02:15 – Meet Drs. Ken Ung and Oliver Suendermann
02:56 – Their observations on how attitudes toward mental health have changed
06:15 – The evolving expectations employees have of their employers – especially in startups
10:00 – The founder struggle with mental health
13:17 – Why men and women deal with mental health issues differently
15:30 – When some people self-medicate the wrong way
17:42 – Tech is changing the scene, but it’s not the sole solution
20:28 – How companies and governments can do better for their people
23:00 – Prevention through education is better than a cure
24:50 – Being responsible for one’s own mental well-being
26:13 – Finding the right mental health professional for you
27:56 – The first step takes a lot of courage, but it is one you need to take

Featured interviewees

• Dr. Ken Ung, psychiatrist at Pacific Healthcare
• Dr. Oliver Suendermann, clinical psychologist and clinical director at Intellect

Host

• Winston Zhang, writer and editor at Tech in Asia Studios

Episode transcript:

Winston Zhang (VO):
Be free with your tempo,
Be free, be free
Surrender your ego, be free,
Be free to yourself