MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

THEA ANGELA V. LONGINO

Have you ever felt like you are a burden on your friends? On your
family? Have you ever thought that nobody sees you? That maybe they
don’t care about you? And sometimes you don’t understand yourself?
These are feelings of pretty much everyone has had at one time or another.
These are also some of the predominant feelings that affect people who
turn to self-harm,to suicide. According to World Health Organization(WHO),
one person dies of suicide every 40 seconds. Particularly, Philippines has
one of the highest cases of depression in Southeast Asia affecting 3 million
Filipinos. These means that Filipinos aging 15-29 needs more attention
and help.

The world right now is in the middle of a mental health crisis. Mental
health has been taken for granted by our government for years. Now is the
time to bring mental health into the spotlight. Rather than join the cue,it’s
important to learn and understand people who are struggling and fighting in
this battle of mental toughness. We ourselves know that certain feeling of
being empty,unworthy,helpless and down but it’s important that we learn
why we get down and learn how we can change it. Because believe it or
not, we create our own negative feelings. The reason why anyone gets
depressed always comes down to the consistent thoughts we think and the
consistent beliefs we hold. If I believe I’m fat,horrible,ugly,dumb and
unworthy of anything, I will most likely become depressed or have
depression thoughts. The point here is that anyone can get depressed
because there is an external factor that didn’t materialized in their life,
maybe because they have experienced a very traumatic experience,lost
something outside of their control or don’t have something that is of their
control. The most common means of job,relationship breakdowns,body
image,comparison to others, differences and more.

We need to not only think in terms of doctors, billable hours and

hospital stay but instead think of protective and preventative care for
ourselves and each other, genuinely. I want all of you to know that no
matter where you are in life, no matter how low you have been sunk, no
matter how dark your situation, THIS IS NOT THE END. This is not the end
of your story,this is not the final chapter of your life. I know it might be hard
right now but if you just hang in there stick it out. Soon you will find out that
this tough moment will pass and if you are committed to using this pain,
using it to build your character,finding a greater meaning and purpose of
the pain. You will find that, in time, you can turn your life around and help
others going thru the same struggles. In school we are taught how to get a
job,but only few teaches us how important our conscious and unconscious
thoughts and associations are. Is our happiness not worth than a job? YES!
Its is! Before you say, “happiness won’t pay my bills!” Happiness will pay
your bills,when you realize you will be 10 times more energized,focused
and take positive action in your life. When you first choose to develop
yourself as a priority and then get all the stuff of the world. I personally
have seen professional people,people who are considered to “have it all”
end their life because they think they are not good enough. A thought, a
belief within them that they were not worthy. These people that many were
jealous of, many envious of are actually insecure of someones happiness
and fulfillment in life. You must value yourself enough, to take time every
single day to work on you. To be engage in something, that will ensure you
are a positive influence of the world. This of course doesn’t mean life will
instantly be perfect. The same life - challenges will show up, but if your
mind is strong, if your mind is at peace,your reaction to the challenging
times will be very different. From “Why is this happening to me?” to “How
can I make this work?” When that moment comes, others will no longer
look at you with pity but with hope. Because your strength will become their
hope,their strength. You can really be that powerful. You can ditch the
victim story,you can leave the pain behind and focus on how you will react
to next. How you will react positively.

Take steps to ensure you will be in a better position next time. There
is nothing fabulous in suffering,and there is nothing dishonorable or wimpy
in asking help. I want to tell you that it’s okay not to be okay because all will
be alright in time. You are not alone. You are worthy. You are beautiful.
You are loved. You deserve to experience how great life can be and you
owe it to the world to be that positive change for others. To inspire others
who will look to you and say -he did it,she did it and I can do it. Thank you