Dating : Welcome to the World of Ellen Nguyen

I’m a writer and self-help author who is passionate about helping people understand themselves better and create a life they love.

I have a deep interest in the psychology of self, relationships, mental health, and personal development. My articles, outside of Medium, have appeared on HuffPost UK, Thought Catalog, Cosmopolitan UK, Yahoo UK!, Mamamia, and more.

Early Background & Education

I was born in Northern Vietnam and moved to the UK at the age of 17.

During my A-level (pre-university), I explored different subjects including Maths, Economics, and Psychology — all with great potential. In the end, I decided that I’d pursue Psychology as it fascinated me endlessly and came to me most naturally. Luckily, my Asian family trusted me enough that they let me follow this peculiar path to most Vietnamese people at the time.

As of now, I hold a BSc degree in Experimental Psychology. It’s accredited by the British Psychological Society, which means I could obtain higher education and train to be a psychologist later.

Career

During my second year at university, I started to look for internships, aiming to work for a big enough corporation that would sponsor my visa after graduation. This would ensure that my family wouldn’t be worried about me studying Psychology instead of Economics.

With great effort, I secured a full-time job at a big bank in London. My specialty is Digital Marketing, though I have done a variety of professional roles in Product and Finance. I’d say I have both an eye for design and a mind for numbers.

Alongside with the corporate life, I have a writing career, as you might have guessed.

Here’s a brief timeline:

Outside of Digital banking and writing, I enjoy reading smart-thinking books and making videos. I used to go viral in Vietnam with videos about social issues and, as a result, appear in national newspapers. Last year, I tried Improv as part of my soul-searching journey. I ended up doing a live show on stage with the loveliest group — the experience was a massive joy.

Personal Life

My upbringing was fairly unusual compared to other Vietnamese kids.

My parents were business owners who went through many ups and downs that shaped up my emotionally turbulent childhood. They sent my two sisters to our grandparents when they were as young as two, and my turn came when I was around ten.

My parents weren’t the most attentive in my early years, but one thing they did remarkably well was our education. In Vietnam, we went to top schools and attended top classes. Later, my eldest sister and I were given the opportunities to pursue higher education in the UK both at the age of 17. We managed to achieve upward mobility thanks to my parents’ vision and effort.

Today, I’m independent and can take care of my parents. Even though I have my eldest sister in London with me and we’re emotionally close, I’m not living with her. I used to use her as a role model, but as I got to know myself better, I recognised our differences and had no choice but to step into the unknown and write my own story.

Between the age of 17 and 25, I had many relationship experiences that challenged my perception of myself and of the world as I knew it — sometimes excruciatingly so. I’ve also overcome many psychological issues, such as relationship trauma and anxious attachment, after a year in therapy and intensive self-work, which was unbelievably transformative. These experiences have helped define me as a person and a writer and been channeled into my writing as inspiring stories and life lessons.