Kates Ante (on the left) and Abegail Escolano (on the right) were the mental health advocates who visited our class last November 16, 2018.
The pictures above were taken when our group was presenting a skit for the visitors. It's about a student who was having emotional problems and dealing with her insensitive classmates at the same time. The skit concluded with the student consulting a guidance counselor. Other groups also showed mental health in a creative way. Every after performance the visitors gave their comments and briefly discussed each situation.
A round table discussion followed next wherein we were asked to share our questions, opinions and experiences. My classmates where brave enough to share their stories and yet I'm just there, contemplating if I should share my personal story or not. Until the talk finished, I wasn't ready to introduce my past self to my new set of classmates in iAcademy. I remained silent as I listened to everyone.
M y S t o r y
On the last quarter of year 2017, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. Words weren't enough to describe what it feels like to people who were asking how I was. I supported myself by writing poems, it became my way of expressing myself instead of repeatedly explaining myself to people. My poems were how they're supposed to be written – metaphoric and flowery; it requires a deep connection for someone to understand it, just like how they're supposed to be with a person for them to know them genuinely. My negative mental recordings started a year before I was diagnosed. I literally cried every night, whether it was because of something or my mind betrayed me by overthinking. I lost my passion in my hobbies – making music, reading novels and creating my own. Each time I try doing them, it doesn't turn out like before. My works seemed empty so I lost interest in them. I didn't care if I was hurting myself back then. Self harm was very satisfying for me since I thought I deserved it. There were moments where I tried battling with myself, whether I'd deepen the cut in my wrist or not. It made me think that it was for the best, that if I leave this world, all the misery would end but there's always something that's stopping me which I couldn't figure out. I wasn't sure what'd happen to me, when my life would end, so I wrote goodbye notes in case I couldn't stop myself the next time. For a year, I struggled just by myself until my mom caught me lying in bed, with my left arm full of blood. Her tears made me rethink what I was doing with my life. My head became messier that time. My parents brought me to the hospital to see a psychiatrist. I suffered from a panic attack so the nurses injected me with something to make me calm. For a week, I stayed at the hospital because the doctor said it'll be dangerous for me at home since I was suicidal. They'd visit me to inject me with something I don't know but that made me sleepy for the whole day. I'd only wake up so I could eat and my head felt heavy each time I did. After I was confined, I was brought home because I didn't want to be confined in a four-cornered room anymore. Well, that's also the situation at home but at least I felt home. I didn't go to school for a month. My parents would take turn in staying at home because they didn't want to leave me with anyone. I had a hard time sleeping each night because I had insomnia. The medications that the doctor gave me would take effect slowly. There are nights that my parents would cry with me because they saw how much I'm suffering. Everyone were telling me to fight so even if I didn't know how to live anymore, I still did.
Depression is a beast that's hard to defeat. It can't be controlled, it controls us.
Months after my medications and psychiatry visits, I became a person I didn't imagine to be. The world seemed a better place and I felt like I was reborn. The scars that were left in my skin always made me remember that I can go through anything with the grace of the Lord. I'm very thankful because he was with me throughout my battle and blessed me with people who loved me truly.
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Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects the way a person thinks and acts. It causes sadness, suicidal intentions and/or affects the lack of interest of a person towards something.
"Depression is all just in your mind. Try to do happy things and it will be gone," says every person who are not aware of mental illnesses. As of 2015, there are 3.3 million Filipinos who suffer from depressive disorders with suicide rates in 2.5 males and 1.7 females per 100,000 Filipino population according to National Center for Mental Health. Increasing rates of people who die from suicide alert the society that mental health issues exist. Some people recognize that awareness to these issues can help reduce the repercussion while some do not take this matter seriously. The government is starting to address the issues regarding mental heath and each individual should cooperate by educating themselves about the illnesses. Pursuant to the newly signed Republic Act No. 11036 otherwise known as Mental Health Act, its mental health services shall be developed accordingly in order to properly implement the law.
Normalization of the concept of mental health as a common topic is also one illness of the society. For the example, the line, "ang bipolar ng weather," has been accepted and used in the society. Because of this, people who have no idea what bipolar disorder is would think that the word "bipolar" is not associated with a serious illness. And those who have legit bipolar disorder would not be taken seriously. People also tend to self-diagnose resulting to the society being "annoyed" to those people who are professionally diagnosed. "Depressed ako ngayon," is normally being used to refer to the feeling of sadness where in fact it's different from the depressive disorder. This causes the society to ignore those who really are in need of help.
How can we know if a person is really suffering from depression?
Unless a person is checked by professionals, namely a psychiatrist or a psychologist, we can't confirm that a person is having a depressive disorder. At the same time, we can't ignore the fact that the person is going through something. All humans have a limit of what we can take. It's normal to experience the feeling of giving up. The least we can do is to pay attention to the people in need and listen to them. Sometimes, the presence of someone is enough for us to be comforted.
Take note of the 4Ds!!!
Deviation
Not all people who are diagnosed with depressive disorder are obviously gloomy. Sometimes, the saddest stories are disguised under the cloth of joyful and merry melodies. We must remember to check on our happy friends and family members because they are the ones who are either using the smile to hide the pain, or smiling because they're happy to leave the world soon.
Dysfunction
The performance of a person can change if they have depression. If their actions are starting to be suspicious such as not eating right, sleeping over or less and being suddenly quiet or distant to other people, then those changes shouldn't be ignored.
Distress
A person may have negative feelings such as stress, sadness and frustration. That's completely normal because that's a man's nature but it's not healthy anymore when it's too much. We should balance these negative feelings to positive ones by treating ourselves right. It's okay to cut the toxicity in our lives.
Dangerousness
It's a whole new level when a person starts exhibiting signs of self harm and suicide. If we know people who are like that then we should immediately consult the family members so they can take action while it's not too late.
Social Imagination
Symbolic Interaction is the most appropriate in this talk because we are able to understand why the people who have mental health issues behave the way they do by interacting with them. We observe the actions of these people to confirm if they are mentally challenged.
Sources:
www.facebook.com/imsuperkates
www.psychiatry.org
docsopinion.com
www.pressreader.com