The healing of Ynez

"When I feel down, I don’t hurt myself anymore. I’d rather doze off and find myself feeling better after that." That’s Ynez Veneracion talking, fully recovered now.

Ynez even manages to turn her failed suicidal attempts into a joke.

"My guardian angel must have gotten tired saving me again and again," she says in Filipino.

Ynez has every reason to look at life, not as a curse, but as a blessing these days. She lives in a luxurious house which she built out of her own earnings, and not because – as rumors have it – a rich benefactor gave it to her.

"I don’t want to end up like other sexy stars whose earnings went to waste," says the 25-year-old Ynez. She was also able to buy a car of her own and invest her money in other things as well.

Ynez admits she didn’t do it alone. Mon Confiado, himself an entrepreneur who owns an apartelle and a string of bars, taught her how to manage her money well.

Those seven years she spent with Mon may have brought out the worst in her. But ironically, it was that experience that taught her to be emotionally strong and financially stable.

Oh yes, she still carries a torch for Mon.

"If he proposes marriage, I’ll say, ‘go,’" Ynez admits. But alas, a third – even fourth party came along and burst the bubble, says Ynez.

Now she has found an even bigger reason for living.

"My family needs me. I send my siblings, even my half-brothers and half-sisters to school," Ynez states. "Maybe that’s why I’m still here, despite my repeated attempts on my life."

Now, she plans to turn what many perceive as a disadvantage into an advantage. Ynez wants to dig into her past as a rape victim and impart tips on surviving the ordeal to other victims of sexual abuse.

She also wants to do the same thing to those with suicidal tendencies like she had before. Ynez wants to throw a lifeline at them and help them discard their destructive attitude once and for all.