Singapore went back into Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA) again. If you recall, we had a P2HA in May 2021 that started on 16th May 2021 and Here We Go Again – P2HA on 22nd July 2021. This is not going to be an easy time again for many of us. The Return of P2HA – Please Take Good Care!

Photography by Isaac Ong

I am not going to share P2HA restrictions photos or talk much about the restrictions in place, the stacked up tables and chairs at kopitiam, cafes, food outlets or the taped up benches and tables at hawker centres, like what I published previously here. However, I would still continue documenting and photographing P2HA whenever possible. 

Photography by Ryan Cheng

Our mental and emotional health/well-being are receiving further and bigger impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 fatigue along with cabin fever. It’s more than a year now since 2020 when the global pandemic hit us, everyone is feeling very tired, it’s taking a big toll on our mental and emotional health. We can see more people around us getting depressed with news of three murder cases within a week in Singapore doesn’t bade well on our current mental and emotional health/well-being. My mental and emotional health/well-being took a hit in the earlier P2HA, I was depressed, in a rut and I was blessed to have friends who pulled me out. 

Through my own photography therapy, trekking into nature and outdoors for forest bathing, I found solace, peace and tranquility again during this ongoing battle against this global pandemic. While this was’t an immediate recovery, it was a slow and steady pace for me. If you are feeling mentally and emotionally burnt out, feeling depressed, you are not alone, you’ll never walk alone, you have your family, loved ones and friends beside you to help you through this.

Please speak to someone that you can trust, go for physical and exercise activities, get into outdoors and nature, return back to your hobbies. You can also do/start something new too. Mental health matters, your mental health and emotional health matters. Take good care of yourself first and you would be able to help other people, from your family, loved ones, to friends and others in the society that have fallen through the cracks.

I am working on a photography therapy project at the moment, I hope that my upcoming humble photography therapy book/zine can help you or play a small role in improving your mental and emotional health/well-being. 

Is there light at the end of the tunnel in this ongoing battle with this global pandemic? Initially, it seemed like we can see light at the end of the tunnel yet the return of P2HA again dampen the whole recovery journey. This is definitely a long and lengthy battle against this global pandemic COVID-19 with many turbulence of ups and downs, this dip might derail our recovery efforts towards a new normal. Let this be the time to unite, be strong and work closely together to continue our fight and recovery journey against  this global pandemic. 

Return of P2HA – Please Take Good Care!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *