Stigma towards people with mental illnesses in the Philippines is rampant. There is a lack of sensitivity in referencing to mental health issues. Many forms and attitudes of stigma affect people with mental illnesses. However, there are differences in stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory behaviors in the Philippines versus the US. Stigma are evident at home, school, workplace and in healthcare settings in both countries.
The Philippines, like most countries of the Western Pacific region, have a national mental health policy. However, in comparison to other countries, it was put into operation relatively recently. Community care for patients is available but limited mostly in big cities.
When I was in college in the Philippines, the topic of mental illness is taboo and not a favorite topic for conversation. If discuss at all it is in whispers. I remember during my engagement and pre-marriage talks, my future wife families ask me If I have closed relatives that are mentally ill. My answer was negative. I had feeling though that if my response was positive, our marriage plans will have been aborted.
One of the popular beliefs in the Philippines during my college years is that depression and anxiety are non-existent, and that mental illnesses are something to be ashamed of. A qualitative study conducted by Tanaka et al. (2018) showed that this stigma is considered to be an effect of the public belief about mental disorders which consist of three themes:
First is familial problems, wherein the family rejects or disowns the family member who suffers from a mental disorder because they believe that it can be inherited.
Second is unrealistic pessimism and optimism about the severity of the disorder, wherein the mentally ill either would certainly suffer from severe functional impairment or would be able to overcome any psychological suffering by themselves.
Last is the oversimplified chronic course,
wherein people without mental illnesses apply an acute illness model to
those ill, and expect full recovery in the short term. For complete
details on the status of mental health in the Philippines visit this site:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706483/full
On
the other hand an article on the Status of Mental Health in the US from
the American Psychological Association published on May 2019 concluded
that:
Most Americans harbor positive views about mental health disorders and treatment (according to the results of a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association).
A total of 87% of American adults agreed that having a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, and 86% said they believe that people with mental health disorders can get better. For complete details visit:https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey
However, A 2019 national poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that mental health stigma is still a major challenge in the workplace. About half of workers were concerned about discussing mental health issues at their jobs. More than one in three were concerned about retaliation or being fired if they sought mental health care.
Only about only about one in five workers were completely comfortable talking about mental health issues. The poll found a generational divide: millennials were almost twice as likely as baby boomers to be comfortable (62% vs. 32%) discussing their mental health.
On a more positive note, about half of workers were at least
somewhat
comfortable talking about mental health and most workers said they
would help guide a troubled co-worker to mental health resources.
However, even among those willing to help, about one in four workers
said they would not know where to turn for mental health help. For
complete details on stigma and discrimination in the work place visit:
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
Finally on the Impact pf Covid-19 on Mental Health
This year’s report includes a spotlight on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, using the over 1.5 million people who have taken a screen on MHA Screening from January to September 2020. From these screens we have found:
- The number of people looking for help with anxiety and depression has skyrocketed. From January to September 2020, 315,220 people took the anxiety screen, a 93 percent increase over the 2019 total number of anxiety screens. 534,784 people took the depression screen, a 62 percent increase over the 2019 total number of depression screens.
- The number of people screening with moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety has continued to increase throughout 2020 and remains higher than rates prior to COVID-19. In September 2020, the rate of moderate to severe anxiety peaked, with over 8 in 10 people who took an anxiety screen scoring with moderate to severe symptoms. Over 8 in 10 people who took a depression screen have scored with symptoms of moderate to severe depression consistently since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
- More people are reporting frequent thoughts of suicide and self-harm than have ever been recorded in the MHA Screening program since its launch in 2014. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread rapidly in March 2020, over 178,000 people have reported frequent suicidal ideation. 37 percent of people reported having thoughts of suicide more than half or nearly every day in September 2020.
- Young people are struggling most with their mental health. The proportion of youth ages 11-17 who accessed screening was 9 percent higher than the average in 2019. Not only are the number of youth searching for help with their mental health increasing, but throughout the COVID-19 pandemic youth ages 11-17 have been more likely than any other age group to score for moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- Rates of suicidal ideation are highest among youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth. In September 2020, over half of 11-17-year-olds reported having thoughts of suicide or self-harm more than half or nearly every day of the previous two weeks. From January to September 2020, 77,470 youth reported experiencing frequent suicidal ideation, including 27,980 LGBTQ+ youth.
- People screening at risk for mental health conditions are struggling most with loneliness or isolation. From April to September 2020, among people who screened with moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression, 70 percent reported that one of the top three things contributing to their mental health concerns was loneliness or isolation.
- People who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander are searching for mental health resources more in 2020 than ever before. The proportion of screeners identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander increased 7 percent, from 9 percent of screeners in 2019 to 16 percent in 2020.
- While rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are increasing for people of all races and ethnicities, there are notable differences in those changes over time. Black or African American screeners have had the highest average percent change over time for anxiety and depression, while Native American or American Indian screeners have had the highest average percent change over time for suicidal ideation.
For complete details visit:https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america
Do you find this article informative? Do you have a relative or a friend that suffers from anxiety and/or depression? What is your personal feelings about mental illness? I will be glad to hear from you via comments.
Today News from the New York Times:
Depression and anxiety fell in early 2021 but have been more common during the pandemic than before it, the C.D.C. reports.
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