COTABATO CITY – In line with this week’s Mental Health Awareness Week Celebration, the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC), in partnership with IMARC Psychological Testing and Wellness Center, continue its series of discussion on Mental Health Awareness which led by a group of Psychology student leaders of Notre Dame University on Wednesday, October 13.
The online discussion, dubbed Youth Exchange, is the second of the four-session online talk and webinar scheduled this week to raise public awareness about mental health and support for mental health activities.
Youth Exchange shed light on the significance of mental wellness among youth. Psychology student Yumerah Usop described mental health as the capacity to accept, recognize, and process emotions both positive and negative.
Usop stressed the failure to handle negative emotions could manifest reaction formation including denial as a form of defense mechanism.
In Addition, Rexi Klien Tacang, another Psychology student, said mental health is as important as physical health as it influences the person’s thinking and feeling towards his daily functionality which include interacting and decision making.
Meanwhile, Ace Fiesta, IMARC-Peers coordinator, explained mental health as defined in the Philippines Mental Health Act 1036. Fiesta also emphasized mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
The discussion also tackled mental health problems encountered by the youth.
Tacang provided statistical report which indicated that 10 percent to 20 percent of the adolescent struggle mental problems, most of which did not undergo any means of treatment.
Meanwhile, Usop emphasized the role of a person’s past experiences and traumas, if left untreated, would result to a riskier mental health problem.
Fiesta, on the other hand, undescored the importance of community in recognizing the existence of mental health.
Youth organizations, Fiesta added, should strengthen their part in spreading awareness on mental health problem along their peacebuilding advocacies.
The discourse concluded as speakers shared their vision on their advocacy for mental health awareness while stressing the role of mental health professionals and experts as authorized in dealing with serious concerns as bounded by the country’s law.
(BYC Public Relations Section)
