About Me — Priscilla Yeung

A.K.A. Midori by the Sea — Still a loneliness researcher, writer, social entrepreneur

Hi everyone, this is Priscilla Yeung. Previously I have been writing under the name Midori by the Sea.

I research, write and find practical solutions to the issue of loneliness. This concerns every one of us, not just the rapidly ageing population.

Let’s heal from this so-called loneliness epidemic.

My story and my belief

During the pandemic, or perhaps even before, I felt very anxious and was eventually diagnosed with anxiety disorder. However, as I took some time off and explored what’s going on in my head with my therapist, it became clear that my anxiety fed off a more fundamental sense of inadequacy — loneliness.

Loneliness is a very powerful feeling of “not enough” — not enough support, not enough friends, not enough self-sufficiency. We can be at a party and feel lonely. We can also feel lonely when being alone, doing our favourite hobby.

My loneliness came from the lack of meaningful connection, and I became anxious trying to fill the hole with various things — from alcohol, cigarettes to toxic relationships.

As the pandemic hit, the issues of loneliness have surfaced more obviously than before. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, some of us have an even bigger story beneath the physical isolation.

Cultivate meaningful connections

The obvious solutions to a lack of meaningful connections would be to make some. Sadly, it’s not always that easy. We are living in a hyper-connected world based on a curated social media presence — the perfect spot to hide our authentic selves.

I was writing with a pen name because I wanted to create a world on the internet with my words that have nothing to do with the real me. Ironically, despite the fake online culture, Medium has been a place I could cultivate soul friends and real connections, where my voice matters.

From there, my real life has changed too. I changed my career, moved out of London, found a healthy and supportive relationship, and now I have vegan lunches on Fridays.

Then it occurred to me that I have become the lucky few who have achieved true authenticity with my online and offline lives. My experience, healing journey and my work are completely aligned.

So here I am, picking up the courage to use my real name to talk about the topics I am passionate about.

I want to provide solutions to as many people as possible, so we can all heal from loneliness, cultivate meaningful relationships and live authentically.

You are not alone if you feel lonely

The most important thing about loneliness we need to know is that it’s a subjective feeling. Most others stop their discussion here and focus on difficult the feeling of loneliness is.

I will go on and suggest that everything that’s not objective is an opinion. An opinion is a narrative that we can control. Knowing this doesn’t mean we will stop being lonely immediately, but it means that we are empowered to become the master of our feelings.

It may be hard for you to believe this right now, especially if you are suffering gravely from loneliness. I feel for you, but I also have faith in you.

I invite you to follow my page for information about loneliness from a rational (and hopefully well researched) perspective, connect with me, and also be part of my journey to provide practical solutions tackling three pillars of our lives: inner peace, offline life, and online presence.