When it comes to mental health, room must be made for young people to be heard and reassure them that their voice has value, their lives are precious. Spaces where they feel safe to speak their mind and seek help matters now more than ever.

In line with its advocacy of empowering the next generation of Filipinos and strengthening communities by providing enriching experiences for the youth, SM Cares mounted Better Days: A Youth Mental Health Caravan. The caravan was hosted in partnership with Mental Health Youth Hub PH, I AM MAD (Making A Difference), the National Youth Commission, and Global Peace Foundation Philippines.

The multi-mall initiative was geared toward creating safe, welcoming spaces where young people could speak openly about their experiences, learn practical ways to care for their mental well-being, and discover that they do not have to face difficult days alone.

Held at the SM North EDSA Skydome last July 3 to be followed by activations at SM Center Pulilan Atrium and SM City Molino Cinema 1 the caravan carried the theme, “A Space for Sharing of Hope, Creating Connections, and Building Better Communities.”

“At SM Cares, we believe a stronger nation begins with young people who know that their lives matter, that their voices have value, and that there are people and communities ready to stand beside them, said Joaquin San Agustin, Executive Vice President for Marketing of SM Supermalls. “And when young people feel heard, valued, and supported, they become better equipped to face challenges, care for others, and take part in building the communities they want to live in.”

Through conversations, panel discussions, activities, and messages from youth advocates and resource speakers, participants envisioned how days could get better and how they can help create them—for themselves and for others. The program encouraged young people to share their struggles, strengthen their resilience, and make every day self-care a routine.

Mental health advocates and friends of the cause such as broadcaster and television personality Kuya Kim Atienza joined the featured speakers at the SM North EDSA leg, helping inspire participants through conversations on well-being and resilience.

Better Days was implemented by SM Cares in partnership with Mental Health Youth Hub PH, I AM MAD (Making A Difference), the National Youth Commission, and Global Peace Foundation Philippines, and was powered by the Global Youth Summit.

The caravan followed the June 24 signing of a memorandum of understanding among SM Cares, the National Youth Commission, represented by Commissioner Undersecretary Joseph Francisco “Jeff” Ortega, and Mental Health Youth Hub PH. This formalized the shared commitment of all organizations to advance youth mental health and well-being and helped pave the way for the initiative.

In the wake of the heartbreaking tragedy at San Jose National High School, Leyte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez is spearheading the creation of a regional rapid-response network of mental health and child protection professionals to safeguard students and fortify school safety. Following an urgent meeting at the Price Mansion on Monday with officials from CHED, DepEd, DOH, and DSWD, Romualdez outlined a decisive three-pronged directive focused on immediate crisis deployment and long-term violence prevention. 

Under this new action plan, the government will first mobilize a regional coalition of volunteer psychologists, psychiatrists, guidance counselors, and social workers who can be deployed instantly during school emergencies. Second, the initiative will institutionalize regular seminars for students, parents, and teachers focusing on mental wellness, child protection, and proactive violence prevention. Third, the plan mandates a tighter coordination pipeline among all participating departments to ensure swift, unified intervention whenever a child is in distress. 

"Hindi sapat ang makiramay lang. May pananagutan tayong kumilos," Romualdez stressed, extending his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. "We called this meeting to discuss not only immediate assistance for those affected today, but to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again."

Rejecting the idea that Congress should remain on the sidelines, Romualdez emphasized that lawmakers have a fundamental duty to bridge systemic gaps, align budgets, and unite various sectors to protect the youth. Rather than reducing the incident to a single cause while the official investigation continues, the lawmaker noted that school violence often stems from an overlapping ecosystem of factors including mental health struggles, bullying, family environment, and digital exposure. 

To address these complex issues comprehensively, Romualdez is eyeing a series of legislative solutions. These systemic reforms include expanding school-based mental health initiatives, funding the hiring of more professional guidance counselors and social workers, strengthening Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) programs, and reviewing regulatory safeguards for minors using social media platforms.

The safety of our children is a shared national duty that belongs to the entire government, schools, parents, and the community alike, Romualdez concluded, adding that the country cannot afford to wait for another incident before fixing the gaps in child protection systems.

 

Mental health is probably one of the less talked about issue in the area of public health globally. The World Health Organization shares that a close to 1 billion people are living with a mental disorder yet countries on average spend a mere 2% of their health budgets on mental health, leaving many without access to quality mental health services. In the Philippines, the Department of Health urges the public to access free mental health e-learning course.

World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, and provides an opportunity for the world to come together to address the challenges around mental health. This year, World Health Organization (WHO), the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) and United for Global Mental Health (UnitedGMH) have joined forces to spark conversations on how the global community can work together through the Move for mental health: let’s invest campaign. The campaign highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications, including social distancing measures and economic downturns are fuelling fear and anxiety that have further impacted people’s mental health.

Another implication is the surge in the number of hours people spend online for work, entertainment and staying updated while remaining at home. The excessive time spent online has led to a new set of challenges, such as screen-time addiction and cyber bullying that have made it more important than ever to ensure a positive and balanced online environment. Along with the government and individuals, digital platforms play a big part to help users forge mental and digital resilience.

How digital platforms can be harnessed to promote mental health

From sharing mental health tips to personal struggles, digital platforms can play a critical role in raising awareness and educating users about mental health. TikTok for instance, launched the #thinkb4youdo challenge to encourage users in the Philippines and across the world to take a moment and consider, before partaking in negative behaviour or even dangerous acts online - from cyber bullying to self-harm. Such campaigns are becoming a call to action for the online community to play their part in creating a safe and positive environment for everyone.

With the time we spend online today, more people are becoming aware that maintaining digital wellness is important and they are leveraging digital platforms to raise such awareness. Case in point, medical intern and TikTok creator Kilimanguru addresses mental health in one of his videos captioning: “Mental health matters. STOP THE STIGMA.” 

@kilimanguru

Mental health matters. STOP THE STIGMA. ##ItStartsOnTikTok ##TiktokPhilippines

♬ original sound - Kilimanguru

How are we coping with our situation now? How long will it take to bring back our normal life after this pandemic? How can we balance the advantages and disadvantages of Covid 19 in our lives? There are too many questions in my mind right now, especially for a mom like me, who thinks more of what will happen to us if there will still be no work. Even our kids are asking when will they be going out? What happen and why they did not finished their school? These are the questions that our family are asking.

The Enchanced Community Quarantine or ECQ really did make our lives different from the once that we used to have. It has been more than a month now and our situation may have an effect on all of us, how are we now? I tried to browse the social media posts and I find that some are already bored, some are stressed with the situation, and some even depressed now. In a simplest way to describe, some of us are having mental health issue or problem.

Just recently, Dr. Roland Cortez, Chief of National Center for Mental Health did a media conference via Zoom app to present the current status about the institution and what people are needing right now. But even though that the center is fighting about mental health issue they are also fighting the COVID-19 as some of their in-patients were also affected by the virus. The good news is that they were able to isolate the situation and address the problem.

I got interested on the topic of Dr. Cortez about the effect of ECQ to our Mental Health, according to him, there are different types of stress that people are experiencing right now such as anxiety, uneasiness, worrying, nervousness, boredom, getting very weak, restless and depression. It is because of what we are facing right now. 


Since we are all confined in the four corners of our houses, there are different aspects that contributes to what we are feeling every day as long as we are still in lockdown or quarantine mode. It was great that there are, still, so many things to do but one of the best thing that effectively helps is to talk. We all need to express our emotions and NCMH have there so called crisis hotline or help line USAP TAYO line 0917-899-USAP (8727) or the 989-USAP (8727). So, with this if you don't want to do an actual consultation you just talk to someone over the phone.

Aside from the hotline Dr. Cortez shared also some of the tips that I heard that you can do inside your house to overcome the feeling of depression and stress:

1. Break away from watching news
2. Always hydrate
3. 8 hours of sleep
4. Positive affirmation

So Mommies, we can all survive this, we need to show that we can overcome this, we can do lots of things inside the house! Kaya natin to! Laban lang!