Pasig village holds webinar on mental wellness amid pandemic

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MANILA – To help residents cope with stress and anxiety caused by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Barangay San Antonio in Pasig on Wednesday held a webinar, making it the first village in the city to do such an initiative.

Raymond Lising, Barangay San Antonio chairman, said many residents listened to their resource speaker via Facebook Live.

The one-hour webinar seeks to give people an idea on the strategies and measures to cope with mental health risks — loneliness, stress, and depressive disorders that sometimes may even lead to self-harm.

The online talk themed: “Emotional and Mental Wellness: Bouncing Back”, was facilitated by Carelle Mangaliag-Herrera, a neuro-linguistic programming and neuroscience expert.

Herrera is the CEO and president of the TrainStation Inc., a motivational marketing company that specializes in corporate and public training workshops for organizational development and personal enhancement.

During an infectious disease outbreak, people’s health and mental wellness must be given special concern because it could lead to stress, depression, breakdown or even suicide.

“For more than three months we are experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic, others are confronting extreme stress, lost their jobs and businesses, confined at home, living far from their families, struggling financially and among others, so we come up with this discussion to help vulnerable individuals cope with emotional and mental issues,” Lising said.

He said he and other barangay officials recently rescued a distressed man who tried to climb the top of the foot bridge in Ortigas Center after losing his job, saying he has no money to provide food for his family.

“Because of the Covid-19 pandemic majority of people or individuals facing problems resort to this kind of action, because their minds are not stable and they cannot think rationally. We must prevent this by stepping up some measures by getting services from experts who can provide them emotional and mental support,” Lising added.

The topics tackled include getting back on our feet and finding opportunities; how to have emotional and mental wellness; how mental health affects one’s physical health and how to become mentally strong and rise up again.

Herrera said one must face one’s battles by preparing a person’s heart and mind — emotional and mental agility. With the chaos brought by the pandemic, she said people should try clearing out their minds and learn new things to recover their sanity.

Due to the lockdown, the routine of many people got restricted so it is important for the brain to have a routine because such affects a person’s behavior.

Rather than be sad and regret what you were not able to do, she urged them to learn new things and use what they have learned.

“Focus your attention on kindness and compassion, for it increases cortisol and well-being. Focusing kindness towards self and others, whatever situation. Pay attention on gratitude that you are still alive. Tumulong sa ospital (help in hospitals), spend time with families or do something yourself,” Herrera added.

Since TrainStation was launched, it has already offered programs on self-improvement, communication, professional development, management, and leadership.

“I just wanted to come up with a measure to ensure ‘yung emotional and mental well-being ng mga kabarangay ko, malaking tulong ito dahil magkakaroon sila ng (of my constituents. This is a big help since they will have) awareness on how to cope with or manage stress, and the idea on how to bounce back,” Lising said.

Barangay San Antonio ever since has been regularly conducting counselling on marriage related issues, drug abuse and other barangay issues as Lising believes that the barangay should focus on managing the psychological impact, not only of the pandemic but all the other stressors.

“Our commitment is to help our constituents para makabangon (to recover), not only by giving financial assistance, relief goods and providing different programs in the barangay but most importantly by giving them emotional and mental support na  kailangan na mabigyang atensyon lalo na ngayong panahong ito (that really needs attention, especially during this time of crisis,” Lising said. (PR)