Take mental illness seriously, seek professional help

I don’t want to sound too pathetic but having personal experience with it, I can rightly say that those who fall into a deep depression and anxiety feel like they are in the center of the heart of darkness. Mental illness often comes out of nowhere like a thief in the night without warning. Now that many children, young people and adolescents have permanent damage from being held in solitary confinement at home for almost two years, the topic of mental illness is becoming more of a public focus.

Unfortunately, for many in the Philippines, words like “psychiatrist,” “psychologist,” or “psychotherapist” sound like the plague, AIDS, Ebola. You don’t want to have anything to do with it and think whoever is strong can do it alone. But this is not the case. The view that exercise, chocolate, and positive thoughts can rehabilitate such diseases is dangerous.

There are telephone hotlines in the Philippines for people who are at risk of suicide, but, unfortunately, many people still die every year. Mental illness cannot be brushed aside with a few words, prayer, or good advice. Professional help is needed here. But there are only a few doctors with this specialty in the Philippines.

There are only more than 400 psychiatrists in the entire country with around 110 million people who specialize in mental illnesses. The waiting time for professional service can take several months. If someone discovers a lump or a suspicious birthmark on the body, they have it examined and a biopsy taken, possibly following treatment if it turns out to be malignant. But with attacks of anxiety or depressive disorders, comments like “pull yourself together,” “it’s not that bad,” or even “it will pass” are still too common. No, it doesn’t.

Without medication and treatment, it remains lifelong and can even lead to death. I can only urgently appeal to everyone to take these diseases seriously. Mental illness also has nothing to do with education or IQ. Some Nobel Prize winners have spoken publicly about their mental illness. Even Hollywood took notice of the subject in “A Beautiful Mind” (2001, starring Russell Crowe). In Europe, I got to know many fellow sufferers in the Mensa Club who, despite their talent, experience deep suffering.

Therefore, no false shame! If you feel mentally ill, get help. If you know someone who suffers from it, talk to them, encourage them to seek help, or offer to accompany the person to the hospital or doctor.

Jürgen Schöfer, Ph.D.

Pasig City