Zoilo “Bingo” P. Dejaresco III l September 9, 2022 l Manila Bulletin
Since man is inherently a social animal, the many lockdowns for two years (2020-2021) had caused him a sense of isolation Face masks, social distancing and fear of being infected were his environment aggravated by many economic challenges as most countries were in a downturn.
By March 2022, the World Health Organization declared that global mental woes such as anxiety, stress and depression scaled upwards during that period by a hefty 25 percent. In a US Study, most adults (80 percent) between 18-35 years old were discovered to be undergoing a kind of depression and 61 percent had moderate anxiety.
A disturbing ratio also showed that 21 percent of those in the medical profession in America wanted to take some kind of a leave, permanently or temporarily, from their stressful jobs during the pandemic.
The European Parliament Research also had the same findings. About 8 of 10 people in Italy, for instance, had psychological trouble and one-third of the people in the Netherlands suffered from anxiety.
“Mindnation,” a mental health and well-being company, published in a newspaper article recently the results of their survey among 6,000 employees in the Philippines showing 53 percent were anxious or depressed with 8.0 percent suicidal and prone to self-harm.
It is a good thing that in the Philippines, we passed the “Mental Health Law” in 2018 which mandated the setting up of mental health facilities in regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals and even in barangay clinics. This came after a study showed that suicide attempts here were a frightening seven a day in the country and 1 of 5 Filipinos had some kind of disorderly behavior traits.
Calls to counseling firms and the like tripled 24/7 during the crisis and many were unaware of how to handle the epidemic as well. The demand for yoga, breathing exercises and physical de-stressors like Zumba dancing suddenly became vogue. Although there are many coping techniques being taught, professional help is always encouraged in extreme cases.
Seeing a therapist is one. A psychiatrist who usually studies human biology ardently and the effect of the mind over behavior -would likely prescribe some kind of medication not to “cure the mental illness” but to “reduce the symptoms”. Psychologists, on the other hand, would use talk (communication) and behavior therapy to help address the emotional well-being of the patient. How about self-help?
Taking a cue, the Women in Finance of Finex (Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines) arranged a virtual webinar titled “Off Balance: The Art of Dealing with Grief and Burnout”.
One resource person Mavi Fojas de Ocampo, Managing Director of Lifestyle Asia (and a Certified Grief Counselor) cites that grief is not an illness but a response to a loss whether death, a relationship, a career, or being displaced physically. Others respond to grief with anger or indifference especially if he has immediate responsibilities to address.
There can be some psychosomatic manifestations in some like insomnia, loss of memory, concentration, brain fog, need for sighing and even loss of muscular power. She said emotions affect parts of the body: anger (liver), worry (stomach), fear (kidneys) and grief (lungs).
There are also different stages of grief but it is a phenomenon that is not linear. The way to handle grief is to tag it as normal, a life transition, and that the “only way out of it is through it”. One does not “get over grief but learn to live with it”, Mavi de Ocampo said.
She encourages Chikum’s “Momentism,” basically in the “here and now” philosophy on not being attached to some past event or person nor being anxious about the unknown future. Live and savor the moment, instead.
Tet Fojas Bachmann, on the other hand, a Kundalini Teacher and part of the Alta Prema Wellbeing points to three ways out of grief and burnout: (a) proper breathing, (b) meditation, and c) sound healing (with gong). She believes in meditation as her “mental shower” in the morning and spoke of seven chakras of our spine. She guides on how to do Chakra meditation like the “Chakra Heart Meditation” and the “four-box breathing” for proper breathing.
Man has been defined as the only animal species that can find ways within himself or invent something without in order to heal his various illnesses and woes. But it always starts with respecting the sovereign self and loving “me” first so one becomes capable of loving and healing others.
The above are some of the techniques for making people help cope with the mental flagellation that the pandemic has brought on mankind. How do you yourself cope?
*** (Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant and media practitioner. He is a Life and Media member of FINEX but his views here are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of FINEX. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com)