APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

Reaction Paper. Make a reaction paper about the article “Stress and Filipino” by Michael L. Tan
from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. (2006). The article is available through
this link: http://pcij.org/ stories/stress-and-the-filipino/. Use the lesson on the social and cultural
dimension of stress in making your reaction paper.

Stress is very common to all of us. We get stressed even in the smallest things. But most
of the people around us, is just setting this aside or just ignoring it and didn’t mind it at all. They
think it is not that serious. Just like what Sir Michael says, if we keep ignoring it, stress can lead
to illnesses, both physically and mentally. there are various ways for us to relieve our stress, it is
only up to us if the ways we choose will be effective or not. There are medicines that use to
handle stress, we can also relive stress by doing yoga or meditation. There are also therapies we
can go to if we get stressed. But it is also true that these ways are not available for all of us
especially those people who’s not that rich to afford this kind of stress relievers. “Sure, Filipinos
are resilient, but this doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t feel stressed.” This sentence is very true,
we Filipino's have positive mindsets and we use it as our stress-coping mechanism. But that
doesn’t mean that we don’t get stressed. We just try to look for the positive side of things and it
keeps us moving forward.
We really get stressed easily, be it at work, school, home or other places we go to.
There’s no age limit if we feel stressed. there is a report on the television that there is a student
who committed suicide because of depression. And I think he/she feel depressed because of
stress and pressure. Honestly, I also easily get stressed, especially when I am still working. I like
working but it is just because I feel comfortable with my co-workers and I feel happy working
with them. But just waking up and imagining that I have to do a thousand of our quota that day
and mix it with a strict and uptight boss is really making me stressed. Even now, this pandemic is
stressful for all of us. We can’t do what we normally do or we can’t try what we want to try. Our
movements are very limited. But we have to control ourselves for us to be safe all the time.
When I feel stressed, I relaxed my mind by doing breathing exercises and I listen to calm and
relaxing music. Then I discipline myself to complete my 8 hours of sleep. It keeps my mind
relaxed and clear.