Terumi Kawakami

Shinchi Beach

"The sea is peaceful this afternoon. But beneath the waves there are the remnants of our lives."

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“There are still many people suffering because they live isolated lives. Small triggers can set them off into depression. They don’t know what lies just below the surface within them.”

Terumi escaped the black waters by seconds. Looking over her shoulder she saw neighbors taken by the water never left to return which left her with debilitating PTSD. To help her get past her fear her doctor urged her to revisit the coast. “I couldn’t bear it,” she said. “It was so painful to see the place I love so much be torn apart. I was still afraid of the sea, but I loved my beach more.”

With the self-knowledge she gained by surviving her own depression Terumi now reaches out to others in the community who are in need of help and seeking inclusion back into the community.