Mental Health Enables the Youth to Empower

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a big threat to everyone’s mental well-being, particularly the youth.

Added to the fear of contracting the virus, young people are facing the new realities and challenges of lockdowns, online classes, and lack of physical contact with other family members and friends.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people may be facing a mental health fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic’s cumulative impact of stress, grief and anxiety among others. Moreover, the WHO’s June-August 2020 survey done across 130 countries shows more than 60% of the world’s mental health services have been disrupted, including those catering to vulnerable sectors such as children and adolescents.

It was for this reason that the youth wing of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), CALD Youth, together with the Liberal Youth of the Philippines, organized a mental health webinar to tackle the prevailing mental health issues today and the way forward. Held on 23 October 2020, the virtual event was broadcasted live in the  CALD Youth’s  Facebook page.

“Millions have already lost their jobs, and our demographic is one of the hardest hit by the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic,” said CALD Youth Secretary General Jeremiah Tomas in his welcome remarks. “This greatly affects our living standards, which directly impacts our wellbeing,” he added.

As the Head of the Mental Health Information System of National Center for Mental Health, Dr. Joeffrey Cruzada said that the pandemic brought confusion and insecurities to the youth. To keep their mental health in check, they should stay focused and mind their emotions. “Identify the stress and do something with stressors. Do things one step at a time, engage and stay connected with friends and support networks,” he said.

According to Gang Badoy-Capati, Lead Trauma Therapist of Project: Steady, mental wellness is not to resolve or address mental health. The goal is not to cartwheel with joy but to know how to regulate. “Meaning you can have days of really crying all day and not getting up, we can have really happy days, and you can bounce back and hopefully the swings get a little smaller because you can regulate, you can now bounce back.”

The Power of Listening

Listening to one another is the first step towards a better society, according to Singapore Democratic Party’s GE 2020 Candidate Min Cheong.

“To build a society that’s compassionate, inclusive, and progressive, we need to listen to each other, we need to build support, and encourage each other. Through that, we can understand that we do not need to be in the same situation as another to then voice out their plight,” she said. She also emphasized that  democratic institutions have an effect on individual empowerment because its “about creating the space, and allowing people to participate, to feel safe enough, in which it has a very strong bearing on the well-being of society, in terms of mental health, and stable progression.”

Amornthep Sachamuneewongse, the CEO of Sati App who experienced depression and schizophrenia, also reiterated the need and power of listening.  “Listening is a great weapon, because it allows us to understand. It allows us to move forward, and it allows us to empathize and be compassionate with the other side as well.” According to Amornthep, democracy and mental health come hand in hand. “Democracy allows you to check the balance and the power. It allows you to fool-proof every transaction that’s happening within the government, it allows you to raise concern, whatever concerns you may have with mental health since it is at the epicenter of how we develop all of our policies.”

Youth for the youth

Since Generation Z is the most prolific in terms of technology, the youth are utilizing that skill to help with the issues of mental health.

National Secretary General of Youth for Mental Health Coalition (YMHC) Alyannah Lagasca shared how her fellow youth leaders are helping young Filipinos during this pandemic through their projects, Buklod, Lingap, Tulay and Hilom. “We empower not just the youth sector, not just our service users, or people with mental health conditions, but our very own society so that we can build communities of care for everyone to take good care of their mental health.”

“It is today’s youth who propagate the woke culture, and your [the youth’s] generation is described as being alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice, along with being aware of what’s going on in the community,” said CALD Secretary General Francis “Blue” Abaya. He also highlighted that demanding the best from the government by participating in all the discourses that affect their lives and dreams is “one of the meaningful ways that the youth can manage their mental health which also contributes to nation-building.”

Abaya’s statements were reflected in Millennials PH National President Meryl Jalani’s speech as she said that her movement and organization will “continue being part of this struggle in the youth sector and beyond the youth sector, to the point that even the ‘unwoked’ people becomes awake.”

Youth participation is vital in this effort towards promoting mental health because given their sheer number alone, their participation puts greater pressure and accountability on our leaders and institutions. In his closing remarks, Human Rights Advocate Chel Diokno expressed the need for the youth since they are the true movers and shakers of our country.

“With mental health, we can finally start empowering each other. When we finally empower the youth, there’s no force in the country that can stop them.”