For most of us, when we hear the term healthy, we usually think about the physical aspect, such as cholesterol levels, cardiovascular strength and the absence of disease. Unfortunately, we forget that health includes mental well-being because mental health problems are just as debilitating as some of the worst physical illnesses. For our physical ailments, we immediately look for home remedies or seek medical help. For our mental ailments, however, most of us are unaware on how to address them. Oftentimes we simply don’t realize that we should be taking care of our mental health as much as we care for our physical health.
The Philippine Mental Health Association – Cordillera Chapter, Inc. (PMHA-CCI) offers mental health services ranging from psychological testing, counseling, mental health seminars, and psychosocial support processing. Despite the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, PMHA-CCI still made efforts to offer mental health services to those in need, especially the government employees of Baguio City and Benguet Province who are continuously serving the public amidst the pandemic.
At the start of the year, La Trinidad National High School (LTNHS) partnered with the PMHA-CCI for the conduct of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support activity for its forty-two personnel on January 19, 2021. The activity comprised of conducting Psychosocial Support Processing session for the teachers to help them destress and expresses their selves, followed by three mental health lectures. One of the lectures focused on helping the teachers understand what mental health is and the importance of taking care of it. The next lecture was about understanding stress and its positive and negative effects to our overall health. The last lecture’s purpose was to equip the teachers with different practices and techniques to manage their stressors.
Also, in December 12, 2020 and January 20, 2021, the Tuba Municipal Police Station had a similar activity for its personnel. The PMHA-CCI conducted a Psychosocial Support Processing Activity to sixty-six of their police officers in two batches. This served as an opportunity for them to share their stressful experiences and become aware of the importance of taking care of their mental health.
According to the participants, the Psychosocial Support Processing sessions were enlightening and gave them a new perspective of their situations. They recommend it to be conducted regularly and that others will definitely appreciate and benefit from the said activity.
We always advocate that everyone’s mental health is important and should be taken care of, especially in this pandemic where every day is a challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected many people’s mental health and created new limitations in all aspects of our lives. Involving ourselves to open discussions about stress and mental health, and integrating in our daily life some techniques to manage negative effects of stress and improve mental health, increases our feelings of self-love.