In the wake of the recent global pandemic, we have all been experiencing a new level of mental instability. Confronted with the small screen dubbed ‘hope’, it bred neuroticism as if we are endowed with a tangled thread of emotional repression.
Suicide rates in the country are increasing, with an estimated 3.2 fatalities per 100,000 people. Whereas fatalities may be greater than estimated, with some suicide cases underreported or misclassified as 'undetermined deaths'.
Despite the statistics, the toxicity of the Filipino society welcomes us to the unfortunate reality that the youth are looked down on and regarded as inferior to elders in Filipino households, and that speaking up for themselves is viewed as a form of rebellion. In contrast, mental illness is considered to be nothing but a frivolous rebuke.
While other countries fight against the stigma, we were only given backhanded words. Through the years, nothing has changed, even in a time when it is most visible. This generation is harshly seen as capable of harboring ‘needless’ sensitivities.
And in a desperate attempt to solve the young man’s future, to get away with the ‘illusion’, they keep a blind eye to the truth and jailed the acceptance of one’s suffering. They are covering it with one’s attitude of spending more time on the internet.
But when considering the possible outcomes of this situation, technology is prudent; the fact that the same technology that solves the economic problems of this society is the same technology that locks and makes the person feel irrelevant at some point.
In a nutshell, this is what World Mental Health Day is all about: self-awareness, change, and the reality of people. The inability to take on a new perspective and empathize with others restricts them from receiving further critical information.
There are so many evils in the world to fear. While we often overlook the fact that the same evil exists within us – with the campaign slogan ‘Mental Healthcare for All’, let’s make it a reality; it leads us to be freed by the truth as we venture into the realm of the living.
Remember that eerie static sound emanating from your left ear? May it come to an end with the inclination of truth, the recognition that everything is a work in progress. The more we fantasize about better things, the more we overlook the lessons that negativity has taught us. Eliminate the modern mind's pampering. Suicides happen, individuals die, and people suffer through immense pain, and this is not a myth. A decade of oppression and the annihilation of hundreds of mentally ill people had been justified.
Reality is harsh, but this must hit.
----- Written by: Chloe Alpay Layout and Design by: Gerald Reyes
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