Community & Wellness Guidelines

Iron Rice Bowl is a coaching platform, but the work we do carries weight. Candidates prepare under pressure, sometimes for months, sometimes while holding full-time jobs or finishing degrees. This page sets out the standards we ask of every Companion, and the support we signpost when the pressure becomes something more than preparation can carry.

Read it once. Keep it for later. If you never need the resources below, that is the best outcome. If you do, they are here.

Every Companion who joins Iron Rice Bowl agrees to the following standards. They are not suggestions. They mirror the standards inside the service we prepare you for.

• ·Treat every Companion, coach, and staff member with respect. Disagreement is welcome. Disrespect is not.
• ·Do not share another Companion's work, scores, questions, or discussion contributions outside the cohort.
• ·Do not post abusive, harassing, discriminatory, or threatening content in any IRB channel — forum, chat, email, or session.
• ·Do not share paid course materials publicly. Screenshots for personal note-taking are accepted. Public reposting, even with attribution, is not.
• ·Do not use AI-generated content as a substitute for your own work in essay submissions or mock interviews. AI as scaffolding is accepted. AI as a substitute is refused.
• ·Report harmful behaviour to general.irb@protonmail.com. Reports are handled confidentially.

A first breach results in a written warning and a conversation. A second breach results in suspension of forum and session access for the remainder of the current cycle. A third breach, or any single act of harassment, abuse, or unlawful conduct, results in permanent removal from the programme without refund.

We do not adjudicate disputes between Companions. We do enforce the standards above as they apply to IRB channels and sessions.

The wellness shelf on this site offers herbal health products supplied by SYT Wellness (上醫堂). They are not registered pharmaceuticals. They do not cure, diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. Statements drawn from traditional Chinese medicine reflect classical use, not clinical claim.

If you are experiencing a health condition — physical or mental — that affects your daily functioning, a herbal supplement is not the answer. A registered medical or Chinese medicine practitioner is. The resources at the bottom of this page can help you find one.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children, and people on prescription medication should consult a registered practitioner before using any wellness product.

Civil service preparation is a long cycle. The JRE runs once a year. The interview rounds are competitive, the pass rates are low, and the stakes feel high because they are. Stress is a normal response to that. It is not a weakness.

Stress becomes a problem when it stops you sleeping, stops you eating, stops you thinking clearly, or makes you feel that the outcome of one examination determines your worth as a person. It does not. If you are at that point, stop preparing and read the resources below.

Mike has seen candidates burn out in the final weeks because they treated rest as a luxury. It is not. It is part of the method. A candidate who sleeps seven hours and reads for ninety minutes outperforms one who sleeps four and reads for four hours. Every cycle. Without exception.

Seek help if you experience any of the following for more than two weeks: persistent low mood or loss of interest in things you usually enjoy; difficulty sleeping or sleeping far more than usual; appetite changes that affect your weight; thoughts of self-harm or that life is not worth living; inability to concentrate that prevents you from reading or writing; panic attacks or persistent anxiety that does not subside after the triggering event.

These are not signs of weakness. They are signs that your nervous system is asking for support. The resources below are free, confidential, and available in Hong Kong right now.

The following services are independent of Iron Rice Bowl. They are listed here because they are the organisations we would direct a friend to. Each is free or low-cost, confidential, and based in Hong Kong.