COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY

Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines
Tel No: 63 (33) 3291971 loc 1084

REACTION PAPER

“STRESS AND FILIPINO”

FEDIE FACTO TABAQUIRAO

The Stress and Filipino really depicts the natural and unique culture and identity
of being a Filipino. We naturally acquire the “Cheerful Personality. Filipinos have a habit
of smiling and laughing a lot. They smile when they are happy, or sometimes even
when they are sad or angry. Smiling has been a coping strategy for many Filipinos
especially during trying times and calamities. For instance, Filipinos smile and wave at
the camera while being interviewed even after a fire or flooding incident. They always
try to maintain a positive outlook in life which makes them resilient and able to manage
almost everything with a simple smile.
These are certainly not the best of times for Filipinos, so it’s not surprising that
we’re pretty much feeling more than the usual physical aches and pains. Sure, Filipinos
are resilient, but as popular medical anthropologist Michael Tan points out in the latest i
Report feature as part of our series tackling health, this doesn’t necessarily mean we
don’t feel stressed.
In fact, it may be one of the reasons why heart disease and strokes are among
the top causes of death in this country. Tan says it could also be a cause of bangungot,
that notorious phenomenon that has had Filipino men, many of them in their prime,
dying in their sleep from supposed nightmares.
An astute observer of Filipino culture, Tan says while solitude stresses us out, so
do the demands of family, although our kin also happens to be one of our major source
of happiness. We are sensitive to smells, but not so much to noise (unless perhaps it
happens to be a barrage of rumors about us). As Tan notes, “stressors are not
universal.” What could be soothing to a foreigner (silence, for example) could drive us
up the wall, and vice versa.
Yet, Tan says, “(not) enough’s being done to understanding stress in its local
context, yet stress is mediated through culture: from the very nature of the stressors, to
the ways we respond to the stress. Understanding this local context might help us
develop more culturally appropriate, and therefore more effective, ways to deal with
stress.”
I think this identity as a Filipino is good, since despite of challenges in our life, we
tend to appreciate it and just smile in the face of problems.

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