43-year-old Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin Yi-chen rose to fame for her portrayal of the naive and straightforward protagonist Yuan Xiangqin in the popular idol drama It Started With a Kiss. Subsequent TV dramas like In Time with You and The Legend of the Condor Heroes also became beloved classics. Known for being strict with herself, she recently revealed that years ago, due to long-term stress, a cyst grew in her brain, nearly affecting her vision and mobility, requiring brain surgery. After this major illness, she significantly reduced her workload and learned to take care of her body and mind.
Lin recently mentioned on a podcast that she started acting in her teens. In her youth, she devoted almost all her energy to her career and studies, spending little time with family and sometimes even neglecting her own feelings. "Driven by self-discipline and demands, not being a trained acting major, I had to work even harder to meet industry standards, even exceed them. So I put immense pressure on myself, coupled with staying up late for filming. It was a kind of physical and mental stress. I thought I could endure it, hold on, but it turns out it accumulates to a certain point and then explodes."
Her body couldn't withstand the long-term stress and late nights, and her health finally flashed a red light in 2009. A cyst grew on her pituitary gland, making her realize how close she was to death. "When I had the CT scan, they saw it was quite large, but weren't sure if it was a tumor. If it continued to grow, it would compress the optic nerve, affect my vision, and eventually I wouldn't be able to move normally. So surgery was necessary to remove it." After the endoscopic surgery ended, the first thing she felt was a mouth full of blood and fluid. "Because the ears, nose, and mouth are connected, the bloody fluid from the surgery flowed down, so my mouth was full of a bloody taste."
This life-and-death experience gave her a different perspective on life. She admits she became more fragile, her emotions fluctuated easily, and it took months for both her physical and mental health to recover. Reflecting on her life from the hospital bed, she thought, "If I were to go now, would I regret it? I said yes, there are still so many things I haven't tried."
She feels incredibly grateful and happy to be able to return to acting work. Even though she hasn't lowered her high standards for herself, she has learned to adjust her pace. "I've adjusted the intensity and frequency. I really want to keep doing this for a long time." Since then, she has drastically reduced her workload and constantly monitors her physical and mental state. In terms of life arrangements, she hopes for more balance, giving herself more time to truly experience the world. Asked if she felt fear at the time, she admitted her only fear was losing her life. Compared to that, losing work opportunities or past career achievements were secondary.
According to Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, a brain cyst is a type of benign brain tumor. However, even if benign, if it grows to a certain size, it can compress brain tissue and increase intracranial pressure. Depending on the location of the cyst or tumor growth in the brain, different symptoms may arise:
