I wonder how many pillows were soaked in tears since the first quarter of isolation, how many dishes were piled up for weeks in the sink, and how many relationships have been seemingly cut off to align with the mind’s timeline. Not only that, millions of bodies have already experienced the wrath of the cytokine. But I have also become concerned with how the isolation had also influenced the once-healthy minds of a big portion of the community. The world has been so focused on mitigating treatment for the physical well-being of everyone that mental health became the last on the list, as if canceling the fact that as the mind crumbles, the body falls through thereafter.
In a recent survey conducted by Council for Welfare of Children, the hotlines of the National Center for Mental Health received about 1,375 suicide-related calls, approximately a total of 12.48% calling for help before they commit self-harm, all of which pertains to either the mind-devastating isolation that needs to be done amid the pandemic, or the melancholy felt from their sudden losses, or the predominant state of mind that came with them into the bubble.
Nevertheless, people have come to decide to live through the cruelty of the season, conditioning the mind to be fully forgiving of the situation, even at the state of grieving from sudden bereavement. If mental health disorders are still an “ineffective” reason for people to shut down, if emotional and mental sufferings are still questionable for one to be extra kind to another, and if the coldness of the hearts of those who were left behind is still unworthy of affordable therapy, peace, and quiet, then I do not know what else could urge people to mind their mental well-being, even with backing it up with science.
Not because mental health reports are not predominant as it is with COVID-19, does not mean that it is not happening at all.
Although the mix of emotions felt and is being experienced by many at the moment are considered “normal”, this does not cancel the fact that a lot of people are detrimental with the isolation, often-than-not negative news, lack of certainty partnered with health risks, and the lack of resources that they have to go through on a daily basis. In a recent data presented by the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) that was also verified by the Department of Health as a table of “Mental Challenge”, it showed the number of individuals who are currently suffering from mental health disorders from the previous year: 1,145,871 with depressive disorder, 520,614 with bipolar disorder, and 213,422 with schizophrenia–all of which may or may not have stemmed from 2020 pandemic.
However, although these recorded individuals may not have acquired their disorder in the span of the pandemic, it is likely that their preexisting disorder might have been strengthened by the isolation induced by the pandemic, as the Department of Health (DOH) confirms to have cited data from the World Health Organization’s Special Initiative for Mental Health giving a data of at least 3.6 million Filipinos is suffering at the minimum of one of each if not all of it, either from mental, neurological, and or substance abuse disorder in the early days of the first quarter of the lockdowns, but reiterates that it might just be an understatement, for there are still a lot of unreported mental health cases due to: a) lack of resources to fund therapy sessions; b) unrecognized mental health condition; c) stigmatized possible symptoms as just mental gymnastics or ‘made-up’. This gives us the conclusion that the fight is far from over, not until everyone has come to realize how the brain is also a part of the body that can also be vulnerable to acquiring diseases and disorders just as how the rest of the body is–an organ that also seeks constant medical attention.
At this time that grief is a common response developed from the traumatic and sudden losses that the public continues to experience, it could also be observed that this grief does not just circle with death of a beloved–it also gives a peek to the lost dreams, ambitions, and plans that have withered in the span of 2 years, about to go on its third year now.
Recalling how I could often see invalidations given in different social media platforms (saying that it must be “unethical” for one to convey his/her feelings IF she/he is not grieving for the loss of a family member), it is alarming how the public have come to normalize “only” welcoming the feeling of grief when it is connected to physical loss, but not about the way the stress comes in to people who have been traumatized, if not, shocked about how drastic changes and alteration of their life have come two years into the pandemic, almost if not totally normalizing the feeling of shock, disbelief, denial, and more of anxiety, distress, anger, and changes in sleep and eating schedules.
As a psychology major, I get to experience active case studies, sometimes the professor would assign cases that are fairly likened to those of the real-time clinical cases. What could be commonly inferred in our case studies is the need for the patients to not only be urged to come for therapies, but to also beg the question: how can these people consult for their condition when the fees, in return, are more than what they can only take? Even if they would want to, the majority would rather binge eat and watch or do other things that could take their mind off the zone for a while, than to mentally get better, yet be swamped with therapy fees thereafter.
The pandemic might have been taking thousands to millions of bodies for quite a while now, but the hopes of the government and the concerned departments to also recognize the existence of mental health conditions are highly needed, too. It would not only be a breather to the community, but would also be a great, fresh start to welcome the big change that the country needs to adapt to, now.
Even with the existence of such mental health conditions, even with just a glimpse to the possible symptoms carried out, one should always remember to feel their emotions, to be kind not just to other people but most especially to themselves, to always reach out to the people who care about us as much as how we also come to the healthcare professionals to attend our medical concerns. After all, having these emotions are meant for us to deal with; to sit and recognize it, to gather all our strength to ask for guidance from Above, and to ask assistance whenever in need.
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