Yo Hive community! 
Over the past couple of years, the rise of AI and automation has completely shifted how we work. Tasks that used to take human effort are now automated, and seeing jobs being replaced left and right is scary. It’s reached a point where even writing a simple email requires AI to "beautify" it. This shit seems pretty dang serious, and honestly, it’s been tremendously stressful. To make matters worse, for the past 2 years, I haven’t been getting any bonus or incentives despite all the grind. It was so frustrating, and all that bottled-up stress eventually took a heavy toll on my body.
I literally earned myself a dreadful medical condition. Out of nowhere, I almost lost half of my body. A stroke caused my left limbs to go limp, which was medically identified as a right lacunar infarct. It was a terrifying wake-up call, but maybe it’s just not my time yet.
Fast forward to today, I’m actually making quite good progress in my recovery! I feel like I’m around 70% to 80% back to normal. Since I’m right-hand dominant, I feel almost absolutely normal on most days. But there are still weird glitches. I haven't fully gotten back my balancing, and sometimes I feel like I’m losing control of my left side. Just the other day, I was sitting there and saw my left thumb twitching all by itself without me giving any instruction to it! Pretty wild, right?
Anyway, I went for my recent routine neurology consultation expecting the usual checkup, but the doctor came back with a very different and unusual comment this time.
The doc said my brain physically seems to have recovered quite well. However, there’s a chance that my fine motor control and neurological progress aren't matching my physical recovery yet. According to the doctor, this could be heavily tied to my stress levels. It could be work, it could be family life, or honestly, even driving through the dreaded Kuala Lumpur traffic every day is enough to trigger me.
So guess what? I was officially referred to a mental specialist 😵💫.
I’m really not sure if I should laugh or just accept the fact that shit is really this serious. The doctor prescribed me some medicine for anxiety and muscle relaxants, but I refused to take them. I just knew in my heart that taking those meds might take me down a path that goes way further than I can imagine. It completely reminds me of a movie plot—where people with mental health issues or disabilities usually live in disbelief that they actually have one 😅.
The specialist basically gave me a ultimatum: I have 3 months to make drastic changes to my lifestyle and stress levels to improve, or I’m going to be in a lot of serious trouble down the road.
That hit me hard. So today, I decided to take control of what I can. I made an appointment and sat down with my HR personnel. We had a genuine, heart-to-heart conversation regarding my job and my health.
I made it crystal clear to her right from the start that our discussion was not about whistleblowing or complaining about anyone. It was simply about letting her know my current health condition transparently. I told her that if there are any job openings or requirements coming up in other departments, I’d really like to try for an internal transfer. Who knows, maybe stepping into a new role with a different environment can help me manage my stress better and give my brain the space it needs to fully recover.
Life has a weird way of forcing you to slow down when you refuse to do it yourself. Right now, I'm taking it one day at a time, listening to my body, and trying to navigate this new chapter.
Thanks for reading my update, guys. Drop a comment below if you’ve ever had to make a big career pivot for your health—I’d love to hear your thoughts. Wish me luck for the next 3 months!