Quarantine Blues - Kumusta Ang Mental Health Mo?

Take your mental health seriously and call a friend now.

Kaya ka nahihirapan kasi you’re trying to handle everything on your own when the truth is, hindi mo naman ‘to kailangan harapin mag-isa.

Hindi mo kailangang magpanggap.

Kaya nga ba nagpapaka-busy ka at work (if you are telecommuting), puyat kakalaro ng COD hanggang 4am, nagse-search nang susunod na mabi-binge watch, etc. is to distract yourself?

There’s nothing wrong with that because you have your own way to cope with mental health. Pero kung alam mo sa sarili mo that you keep those nakaka-grrrr na emotions under the rug dahil ayaw mong harapin ang totoong nararamdaman mo inside, para sa ‘yo ‘to.

Basahin mo ‘tong sabi ni Tess Brigham, therapist, in her article ‘Wake up, millennials: Now is the time to prioritize your mental health,’ therapist says of coronavirus pandemic in CNBC, “While the coronavirus dangers are real, anxiety-inducing distractions make it far too easy for millennials (even those with pre-existing issues) to overlook mental health implications.”

Today, let’s be real.

Okay lang ba?

TikTok can wait but your mental health needs your attention now.

Do not invalidate your feelings.

This pandemic shook the world. This country. Your community. Your life, family, relationships, work, school, health, and the list just goes on and on. Domino effect. Walang takas ang sino man.

Now, you are forced to face the new normal and of course, you will feel anxious, confused, angry, or frustrated because all that you hold dear are affected one way or another.

Sino ba ang hindi makakaramdam ng takot?

Lalo na if you have pre-existing mental health issues. Meaning, if you have been depressed before and now it’s getting back or worse because you are quarantined, and the future is blurry.

Sabi pa ni Amy Woodyatt of CNN Philippines in her article Experts warn of urgent need for COVID-19 mental health research, “Mental health and brain research must be a higher priority in the response to the coronavirus pandemic, scientists have said, warning that the crisis could have a “profound” and “pervasive impact” on global mental health now and in the future.”

Ayaw mo ring umabot ganito.

“If we do nothing we risk seeing an increase in mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, and a rise in problem behaviors such as alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, cyberbullying or social consequences such as homelessness and relationship[s] breakdown. The scale of this problem is too serious to ignore, both in terms of every human life that may be affected, and in terms of the wider impact on society,” says Professor Rory O’Connor in the same article of CNN Philippines.