Pop singer Selina Jen (任家萱) of the popular Taiwanese band S.H.E has been updating her fans about her path to recovery through micro-blogging, and said she is using the medium as a form of therapy.
“Writing is also a kind of rehabilitation,” wrote the 29-year-old singer, who sustained burns over 54 percent of her body while shooting an explosion scene for a drama series on Oct. 22 in Shanghai.
Selina has also uploaded a back view photo of her and her fiancee, Chang Cheng-chung (張承中), a 38-year-old lawyer, walking hand-in-hand under street lights on Friday evening, the second day of the Lunar New Year.
“I have to walk more because new skin is growing on my legs,” Selina wrote on her blog. “The steps I’m taking might be shaky and the mask I’m wearing intimidating, but the eyes under the mask are bright and ready for the challenges ahead.”
Since her discharge from hospital, Selina has been blogging every few days about her recovery, telling her fans about her experience.
She said that sharing her thoughts and feelings with the public was therapeutic.
Writing is encouraged by some doctors as a form of therapy to help patients express their emotions, said Lee Yi-ming, a psychotherapist who specializes in the treatment of burn victims and patients with rare diseases.
“Patients can write down their negative emotions so professionals can give them feedback and encouragement, which is of significant value during the recovery process,” Lee said.
Besides writing, talking with other patients could help speed up and improve Selina’s mental well-being, as burn victims usually share the same pain and can easily identify with each other, Lee said.
“Writing is a one-way form of communication, but talking with people who have gone through the same rehabilitation process is a mutual exchange,” Lee said.
Regrettably, public figures like Selina seldom have the chance to take part in support group activities because they draw media attention and thus compromise the privacy of other patients, she said.
Lee suggested that Selina also find other ways to vent her emotions and not try too hard to put up a strong front for her family.
Lee said a nurse who was also a burn victim was visiting Selina.
“It helps and comforts Selina to have someone like that, with a similar experience, to talk to,” she said.
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