Ep 198 | Emily Wu Truong: Award-Winning Mental Health Speaker Inspires Others to Find Meaning in Their Struggles

Jul 28, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Emily Wu Truong is a motivational speaker for mental health awareness. She is affiliated with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and has been involved with this organization for the last 8.5 years. I’ve invited her on to Talking Taiwan as a guest since July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month. Emily spoke with me about her own struggles with mental health, and suicide. She has a passion for working with youths on mental health related issues. She also shared her thoughts about the oppression and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma by the people of Taiwan, and how it could impact one’s mental health.

About Emily Wu Truong:

Emily Wu Truong is an award-winning mental health advocate, nationally-recognized motivational speaker, catalytic thought leader, community educator, playwright and published author. For over a decade, Emily has worked tirelessly to create more compassionate & accepting communities by bringing mental health education wherever she goes. As a speaker, Emily utilizes her story from depression to self-actualization, inspiring others to find meaning in life struggles. She has spoken to a variety of audiences, including students from elementary school to graduate school students, school administrators, teachers, families, law enforcement, faith-based communities, medical and mental health professionals and many more. Over the years, in recognition of Emily’s efforts to raise awareness on mental health and emotional resilience, she has been featured in the California Mental Health Movement “Each Mind Matters,” Good Morning America, NBC Asian America, LA 18 and World Journal (世界日報). Emily has also been honored with the “2015 Woman of Achievement Award” by former Senator Ed Hernandez. Also in 2015, Emily was honored with the Youth and Young Adult Leadership Award at the 29th Annual National Alternatives Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, the Los Angeles County Supervisors honored Emily's request to establish May 10th as "Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day." In 2018, former Assemblyman Ed Chau honored Emily with the 2018 Make A Difference Award. Emily has become a role model for many, sharing her life lessons and delivering her message that helplessness is not hopelessness and that with help, there is hope.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Why she’s been called the lady in green
How Emily tries to talk about mental health in a positive light
The struggles that Emily felt growing up
How the painting “The Potato Eaters” by Van Gogh reminds her of how she felt disconnected from her family in the past
How she started asking existential questions about life when she was in junior high
Competitiveness in the Asian culture
Comparisons made by Asian parents, families and relatives
Emily’s passion for the mental health of youth
How important it is for kids to have supportive friends
How Emily struggled in elementary school and was bullied in junior high
Emily’s best friend in high school Enoch who helped her to get through high school
How Emily used dating as a coping skill in the past
How Emily is a suicide survivor what her to consider suicide and what stopped her from committing suicide
Emily’s thoughts on school shootings
Her first experience with a therapist and counseling in college
How Emily wants to help young people to develop coping skills to deal with their parents and peers so that they don’t need to internalize things
How Emily took an interest Taiwan in order to bond with her mother
How Emily competed in the Miss Taiwan pageant
How Emily discovered that her mother’s cousin is Taiwanese activist Koh Se Kai and that encouraged her to be more outspoken
How Emily got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Bureau, TACL and FAPA
Emily’s thoughts on how the people of Taiwan have been oppressed and how and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma could impact one’s mental health
Author Iris Chang who committed suicide
Emily’s work with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)