"This is a difficult time for all of us—and it is more difficult for some than it is for others."
A quarter of Filipinos are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a 2020 University of the Philippines study involving 1,879 respondents.
Another sixth of the respondents were found to have moderate to severe depression, a technical consultant of the Department of Health added.
The consultant, psychologist Dr. Agnes Joy Cariño, said that many people find it difficult to adjust to wearing different hats, maintaining a work-life balance, drawing boundaries between their jobs and their personal lives, and having the option to go out and unwind to cope with stress.
“We are not just grieving those who died from COVID-19. Some are grieving because we lost our dreams, we lost our ambitions. We lost the previous life that we led. This is a universal grieving on a large scale,” she said.
Mental health issues are just one insidious effect of the pandemic, aside from the more obvious physical health risks and economic displacement. This does not mean they are any less important or that they deserve secondary attention. To be mentally well is to be better able to deal with the challenges of our lives as individuals and as part of the community and the nation.
We can also imagine how difficult it is for those who do not even have the luxury of working from home to earn their living.
Of course, the study was done in 2020. Many more issues have come up since then—there have been more Filipinos who got sick and died, more jobs that have been lost. Certainly, this new, more contagious variant is fueling anxiety among us even among those who have been vaccinated.
This is a difficult time for all of us—and it is more difficult for some than it is for others. As we scramble to protect our families while also ensuring we have food on the table, and as we look toward choosing a new set of leaders to govern us next year, may we remember to be just a little bit kinder, more understanding and less toxic to the people around us. This kinder, more mindful disposition would help us navigate the new normal—whatever form or shape it takes.