Problematic Situation of Mental Health in the Philippines
How the pandemic worsened the mental health situation on Philippines in General.
In Philippines, Mental Health is a highly subjective topic, as not a lot of people acknowledge it, let alone know anything about it. In simple terms, mental health is anything that is related in emotional, psychological state and, our social well-being; and it can dictate what we feel, what we think and what we act.
Now, as for why people do not acknowledge or know about it is debatable, it could be because there is no single definitive answer why mental health is not acknowledged as much as it needed to be, at least here in the Philippines. But I have noticed a pattern of specific factors that contributes to the problem that we have right now. It includes the culture (insensitivity) here in the Philippines, lack of education in the matter, stigma, social interactions and frankly the hard-headed nature of a person.
The Evidence why Mental Health has become very Subjective in Philippines
Multiple cross-sectional studies in the previous years have pointed out factors which are sociological, political and cultural factors that affected the development of mental health here in the Philippines. It also emphasizes out that the problematic behaviors toward seeking help, financial constraints and stigma towards Mental Health Disorders are the common culprits on these factors which hampers the development of any initiatives regarding the Mental Health here.
I once knew someone who had a Mental Health Disorder and the wide variation of speculations of why the person acts the way it is. One story said that during his mother's delivery, the mother is having a fever; one story is not being circumcised. There are more stories about that I cannot tackle today but the utter ridiculousness of these stories is partly causing the stigma about mental health.
The Mental Health and Pandemic
As to no one's surprise, the pandemic has hit people in many different ways like losing their jobs, closing down businesses, isolation, hyperconsciousness toward acquiring diseases. But the sector got hit just as hard but not a lot of people acknowledges; at least in the Philippines are the effects of this pandemic toward the mental health of an individual.
This pandemic, the mental health stigma here in the Philippines have shown it's ugly head and the barrier between seeking mental health services from psychologists or psychometricians have worsened, because of the sentiment of "Nasa Isip mo lang yan" which takes a toll on the mental health in an individual level because it makes an impression that you are helpless and alone in that situation, resulting to Self harm and suicide rates being on the rise as this pandemic keeps going on, and the fact that the problem is not highlighted as it should be is an alarming concern. As the Media depicts these incidences like two sides of a coin problem with no in-betweens or a yes or no question is just as problematic as the extreme traditionalism of the culture, to the point of abuse, especially in the workplace and in households, where resilience is highly overrated and overly fantasized. As for someone who has a family like that is centered on the tradition and possibly to an extreme, I understand the experiences of others who had worse situations like domestic violence, feeling of loneliness, neglection of feelings toward teens and others with similar age groups, and toxic positivity towards problems especially in the mental health side of things amplified by the stigma toward mental health.
Now how can we change the perspective towards mental health here and ending the stigma toward seeking assistance in regards to mental health? Some say we have to create advocacies voicing out mental health as part of our daily living, this is probably the obvious choice at face value, but the problem is that how can we educate people toward something so naïve and out of culture here? This is only one of the reasons why this probably wont work, but I still believe it has its merits. I personally believe that the stigma and fears on mental health will not be solved by our generation, as people in their midlife cannot be easily taught out the things they do not personally experience and actively ignore the data surrounding it; only our children and the future generations can solve the problem in the future.
But what can we do right now?
Surely, we won't be idling around and doing nothing while higher numbers of incidences of mental health disorders come out in recent times, voicing out the problem is step in solving it but I highly doubt it will be enough. I firmly believe starting to educate children in a young age (not necessarily toddlers and kids) most likely targets are teenagers in their high school days in their Health subjects as part of their curriculum, and where the developmental stage of an individual reaches it’s peak. That is only one of the solutions I have in mind, but other solutions are still subject for self-evaluation if it will be effective in the long term.
In the end, it is hard to fathom the mental health situation that is worsened by the Pandemic, but you can always start small. If you think you might be experiencing depression, you can always consult a specialist in the field and talk about it with that specialist. In the mean time, have people accompanying you in hard times and also be there for them, you wouldn't know a small gesture of care for someone might help because you don’t always know if someone is having a bad time.