THERE WERE five incidents of suicide that this paper reported last month. Could there be more such cases but were just not recorded by or reported to the police? Probably.
Why do some people commit suicide? Many point to depression driving some to kill themselves. Two years ago there was this raging public debate on whether or not depression is a serious condition. The debate only proved that Filipinos need to be educated more on matters pertaining to mental health.
Depression is no joke. Those suffering from it, especially the youth, need support. Three of the suicide cases reported last month involved young people aged 22, 18 and 14 years old. A national paper reported last week that 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depression.
According to the Department of Health, depression is a form of mental illness, a serious health condition. In fact, it says 20 percent (one out of five) of Filipino adults suffer from some form of mental illness. But now it is affecting even young people. The weight of haplessness, hopelessness and helplessness ā the three dreaded āHā symptoms of depression ā gravitate towards what now are the new high-risk group: the young population.
Certainly, Filipinos from all walks of life should benefit from a national mental health policy focused on information dissemination and making treatment accessible. We now have the Philippine Mental Health Law (Republic Act 11036) enacted just last year). It bats for the establishment of an accessible mental care system integrated in the general health services infrastructure.
Many of the health problems we encounter arise from mental conditions. Our physicians see a significant proportion of common symptoms such as fatigue, abdominal pain, and back pain for which they donāt find a cause. If we will be able to identify patientsā psychosocial stressors and common mental and behavioral conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance use, we can understand more about what drive these symptoms and be able to give appropriate care and treatment
