Wellness for the Mind: Exploring Our Center's Mental Health-Focused Programs in the Philippines - Secret Philippines (2023)

FAQs

What is the mental health awareness program in the Philippines? ›

The Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA) is a “private, non-stock and nonprofit organization” that aims to “raise awareness, provide services and conduct research” on mental health in the Philippines.

A report by the World Health Organization showed there are only around 1,200 practicing psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses in the Philippines in 2020.

The State commits itself to promoting the well-being of people by ensuring that: mental health is valued, promoted and protected; mental health conditions are treated and prevented; timely, affordable, high-quality, and culturally- appropriate mental health care is made available to the public; mental health services ...

In 2017, the two most common mental health conditions, anxiety and depression, accounted for over 800 000 years of life lived with disability in the country, leading not only to vast human suffering but also to economic losses due to the impact on the workforce productivity.

The DOH estimates that at least 3.6 million Filipinos are facing mental health issues during the pandemic, including depression, substance use disorders such as alcohol use disorder, and mood disorders like bipolar disorder. COVID-19 infection in itself has been found to directly impact a person's mental health.

The WHO estimated that 154 million Filipinos suffer from depression, 1 million from schizophrenia, and 15.3 million from substance use disorders, while 877,000 die due to suicide every year (Department of Health, 2018).

The health official pointed out that the country is losing mental health professionals to other lucrative jobs due to the lack of a “sustainable career path” for them, adding that the government and the private sector must invest in them.

mood disorders (such as depression or bipolar disorder) anxiety disorders. personality disorders. psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia)

How can we promote mental health in the community? ›

Any activities that promote exercise, sleep, and good nutrition. Projects that encourage help-seeking and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Initiatives that encourage gratitude and mindfulness. Creating spaces for communities to gather, build relationships and identify common needs.

There are five main aspects of personal health: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual. In order to be considered "well," it is imperative for none of these areas to be neglected.

According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), mental health illnesses rank as the third most common form of morbidity among Filipinos. In the assessment conducted on the Philippine mental health system, a prevalence of 16% of mental disorders among children was reported.

The Mental Health Law (Republic Act 11036) proposes a mental health policy that aims to enhance integrated mental health services, the promotion of mental health services, protection of people who use said services, and the establishment of a Philippine mental health council.

11036, "AN ACT ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH POLICY FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENHANCING THE DELIVERY OF INTEGRATED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS UTILIZING PSYCHIATRIC, NEUROLOGIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH SERVICES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."

Depression. Impacting an estimated 300 million people, depression is the most-common mental disorder and generally affects women more often than men.

A report released by the World Health Organization has estimated that the overall prevalence of depression in the Philippines is 3.3%, (World Health Organization, 2017) suggesting that about 3.3 million Filipinos are experiencing depressive symptoms based on the 2015 population estimate (Philippine Statistics Authority ...

Why are mental health programs important? ›

Providing mental health services in a school based setting helps address barriers to learning and provide supports so that all students can achieve in school and ultimately in life. Schools are also places where prevention and early intervention activities can occur in a non-stigmatizing environment.

Globally, the majority of those who need mental health care worldwide lack access to high-quality mental health services. Stigma, human resource shortages, fragmented service delivery models, and lack of research capacity for implementation and policy change contribute to the current mental health treatment gap.

Understand the impact of a mental illness on the employee. Comprehend the importance of support from the workplace. Develop strategies for helping themselves or others who are suffering from a mental illness.

Right now, nearly 10 million Americans are living with a serious mental disorder. The most common are anxiety disorders major depression and bipolar disorder.

If you think depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder are the mental illnesses most commonly linked to an early death, you're wrong. Eating disorders—including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating— are the most lethal mental health conditions, according to research in Current Psychiatry Reports.

This vision suggests that mental health care will be patient controlled; it will target people's social context to improve their mental health; it will become virtual; and access to care will be regulated on the basis of social disadvantage.

What are examples of mental illness stigma? When someone with a mental illness is called 'dangerous', 'crazy' or 'incompetent' rather than unwell, it is an example of a stigma. It's also stigma when a person with mental illness is mocked or called weak for seeking help. Stigma often involves inaccurate stereotypes.

Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias and separation anxiety disorder. You can have more than one anxiety disorder. Sometimes anxiety results from a medical condition that needs treatment.

Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.

What are the 4 C's of mental illness? ›

Sometimes little slogans can help us remember important recovery topics. The 4 C's is one of them: Family didn't cause mental illness or addiction, can't control it, can't cure it but certainly can cope with it. This is something that a lot of family members, especially parents, wonder about.

Wellness encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental (Table 1) (1).

These include school and workplace mental health programs, early childhood interventions, social support and community engagement, women empowerment, anti-discrimination programs, and other interventions that address the social determinants of mental health.

An intervention for mental health or addiction challenges can be a meeting between the concerned person (or people) and the person who needs help. In a traditional intervention, you might vocalize your concerns about this person's health in order to encourage them to seek out professional treatment.

More generally, well-being is just feeling good about yourself and your life. Mental Health is made up of 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.

Location, date, timing and context are all critical in determining the way in which the key message will be received. In most cases, it is best to integrate a number of different channels to maximise the reach of your mental health campaigns.

Why is it important to promote ways to improve mental health? ›

Mental health is important because it can help you to: Cope with the stresses of life. Be physically healthy.

Wellness is commonly viewed as having seven dimensions: mental, physical, social, financial, spiritual, environmental, and vocational.

Experiencing optimal health involves focusing on the five pillars of health, including detoxification, nutrition, fitness, hormone optimization, and stress reduction.

Mental health awareness is the ongoing effort to reduce the stigma around mental illness and mental health conditions by sharing our personal experiences. Often, because of misconceptions about mental health and mental fitness, people often suffer in silence and their conditions go untreated.

In 1951, it pioneered a nationwide educational movement through the endorsement of the first National Mental Health Week, which subsequent- ly became an annual celebration.

“Prohibitive economic conditions and the inaccessibility of mental health services limit access to mental health care in the Philippines. Further, perceived or internalized stigma has been shown to be a barrier to help-seeking behavior in Filipinos.”

Self-awareness is the first step to improve well-being. Building a strong social support system can improve mental health. Healthy coping mechanisms for stress can improve our well-being. Journaling is an important tool to identify patterns in mental health stressors.

"We commend President Rodrigo Duterte for signing into law the Mental Health Act… we hope that this law will help Filipinos overcome the stigma of mental illness, and enable them to seek professional help," Angara said in his statement.

Moreover, the Philippines has only one psychiatrist for every 250,000 mentally ill patients, far from the ideal ratio of one to 50,000 patients. The rate of mental health hospitals in the country is at 0.002, while the rate of beds in the hospitals is at 4.486 per 100,000 population.

What is the purpose of the Philippine Mental Health Association? ›

We are a private, non-stock, nonprofit organization that aims to promote mental health and wellbeing and prevent and treat mental disorders through our education and advocacy and through our clinical and intervention services.