Reflection Paper on the Mental Health Awareness Webinar

“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”

Mental health is a very important part of our total wellness. It is much important especially now in this

time of the pandemic.

In the webinar that we attended, mental health was defined as the sum total of what is going on in the

organ system of our body. It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how

we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Even before the pandemic, there is already a call for public awareness in regards with the mental health

issues. Based on the statistics, there is already quite the percentage of people suffering from this kind of

issue like depression, mood disorders and anxiety. And ever since the spread of the Coronavirus the rise

of cases of mental issue became increasingly a huge problem.

So why does the Coronavirus trigger mental health issues?

The pandemic has brought change in our lives. Generally, it has affected businesses and schools. It drove

everyone to hide behind the securities of their homes, forcing other people to lose their jobs and

become isolated from the rest of society. Individually, it switched our mindset from “living” to

“survival.”It increased health anxiety not only for yourself but for your loved ones. It triggers the feeling

of hopelessness and despair.

This “new normal” can make people “abnormal”. There is even a speculation that the next wave of the

pandemic is the mental health wave. Everyone is so stressed out that some became so depressed and

anxious to the point of committing suicide. Some even became violent, making an increase to the

number of cases of domestic abuse. And I think this is why we should not disregard this.

First, I believe that we should acknowledge the fact that there has been a high rise of anxiety and worry.

Worrying is the natural reaction of the body to the unknown. And that’s normal. Psychological stress

triggers our body to react in such a way like depression, anxiety, confusion, anger and worried reactions.

Right now we may be worrying about when this pandemic will be over, or will we be safe until a cure is

found, or perhaps we even worry where to find a stable job during this troubling period?
How about anxiety? As discussed by one of the speakers in the webinar, anxiety is a typical human

reaction to stress. But not all types of anxiety are bad. In fact, some anxieties are actually helpful. It helps

us keep the virus at bay like for example: it helps us to always wash our hands and making sure to be

consistent in wearing our masks outside.

Too much anxiety, worry, or fear however, is bad. It affects our capability to stay calm and have sound

mind in order to make right decisions. So that’s why we should learn how to better handle our stress.

How to handle stress?

In the webinar, the speakers gave a lot of methods on how to handle stress. What I remember was the

four steps of coping strategy, the six R’s of self-care, and the PERMA of self care designed by Dr. Martin

Seligman.