Last night, I mentioned about feeling not myself. I said that an unwanted guest has come to pay a visit and with its presence I feel so drained that I can barely function.
What I failed to mention was that after I publish the article, our scholarship advisor sent a link to Unilab's webinar that felt like an answer to the black clouds that hang over me. They are doing a webinar titled "Mental Health in Yound Adults: Red Flags and Responses".
Since I had a favorable experience with my first webinar that day, I thought that I should attend another one. This is a timely topic after all, and it might just be what I need.
Thank God, I listened to my gut feeling. The webinar really helped me in realizing that I am not alone in what I feel. There are people that i can reach out to when I need help.
Tonight, I want to share the things we discussed in this webinar. It is styled as a dialogue form wherein most of the webinar is just the host and the guest speaker answerin the questions sent by the participants. Before that, Dr. Dimalanta gave a brief background onto today's topic.
I will not be going through into the detailed explanation of each part that we discussed since I linked the webinar earlier. If you are super interested then I can assure you that it would be better to watch it. However, the webinar mostly uses the Filipino language so I will still try to enumerate the important things here.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a professional on the matter. I am merely writing about my experience today. As such, if you decided to try and quiz me about the matter as a test of whether I plagiarize this or not, I will assure you that I will be laughing at you (loudly). All information here came from the notes I took while the webinar is happening.
Mental Health
Dr. Dimalanta described mental health as the social and emotional being of people. Since this topic is specifically for adolescence (13-25 years old), he was more focused on explaining the mental health of the target audience.
He said that a good mental health is needed for teenage development, strong relationships as well as resilience.
Signs of good mental health
What I have written on my notes include:
Bounce back from pain and disappoinments- someone with a good mental health will not be down for too long from the setbacks they experienced.
Sense of achievement- you are able to feel proud of yourself and what you can do and achieve
Can get a good night's sleep and can relax- if you are mentally fit, you can sleep witnout worries, and relaxing is not a hard thing to do for you
Sense of belongingness-a person with good mental health knows that they have a place where they belong, they do not feel left out or an outcast
Mental Health Problems
He mentioned that one in six people aged 10-19 experiences mental health problems. Half of the mental health conditions start by age 14 but most are undetected and left untreated.
Depression is a leading cause of illness in adolescents. The extreme cases lead to suicides which is the 4th (or 3rd according to certain studies) leading cause of death for 15-19 year olds.
Some signs that I was able to take note of
Lack of motivation- feeling uninspired to do things you normally love to do
Trouble doing daily activities- cannot do "easy" tasks such as getting out of bed, taking a bath, doing chores, etc.
Sudden behavioral changes-from talkative to being quiet, vice versa or some other sudden changes
Trouble sleeping or eating- not getting enough sleep or sleeping too much, same with eating.
Avoiding social interactions- not socializing with friends and family
Anxiousness over appearances and weight- being overly self-conscious about what you look like
Engaging in self-harm or harming other people- harming yourself or harming others without any reason
Possible Causes
These are the possible causes on why mental health problems occur in adolescence.
Childhood abuse or trauma
Social isolation
Discrimation, bullying, and stigma
Poverty
Losing someone close to you
Being the sole caregiver for a long time
Substance abuse (alcohol, drugs, etc.)
Domestic violence
Constant stress for long periods of time
Questions and Answers
This part is roughly translated to English for the benefit of the non-Filipino readers.
How early can a mental health problem develop?
Dr. Dimalanta said that his youngest patient was just 9 years old.
Did mental health problems existed in the past? Why am I seeing rising numbers of people with mental health problems?
Mental health problems have always existed. We are seeing a spike in numbers because of the pandemic. People have lost most of their socialization with other people, and their usual coping mechanisms. For adolescence, who prefer to mostly hang out with their friends, staying indoors with their families 24/7 is taking a toll on their mental health.
What are the reasons for mental health problems?
The reason in simple terms is that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain such as in the brain chemicals known as serotonin and dopamine.
How to differentiate between normal teenage behaviors versus a mental health problem?
This is a hard question to answer where the final answer just boil down into listening to your gut feeling. It is difficult to advice more because you will be the one who knows and wo interacts the most with them.
Are mental health problems permanent?
Some stay for lifetime because they are unable to get help. But for people who get help peofessionally, they are able to overcome their mental health problems.
When should you consult a professional? What professional should you consult? Are there medicines available?
One should consult a medical professional when one is engaging in self harm behavior or when one is asking for help. You can consult with a psychology, pedeatrician or any professional as they all work together and can refer you to what you need most. Medicines are available but you need a doctor's approval first. Remember that what works for one will not necessarily works for others.
What can you do to prevent getting mental health problems?
Getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating a balanced diet are all good in preventing problems. Of course a good support group also helps
How to open up when your family does not think mental health problems are real?
If your immediate family are close-minded, then Dr.Dimalanta says that finding someone you can trust is a must.
What should you say and not say to someone with mental health problems?
Never invalidates one's feelings. Don't try to engage in toxic positivity. What you can do is be there to listen. Tell them that you are there to help.
What to do when you know someone doing self-harm?
Seek a professional with them. Help them know that they are not alone.
My thoughts
I believe that this webinar is very informative. I think that this will be better for parents so that they can be more aware of how to be more sensitive to their children.
One thing that stuck with me in the webinar is that we must establish a safe space for opening up our thoughts in our families when we can. To do this, we have to cultivate a zone where we can share anything without fearing judgement.
There is one part where they said that most times, parents ask their children how they are but instead of listening, they just ended up nagging their children. So in the end, their children grew up never opening up to them.
Of course, not every family can be a safe haven which is why it is incredibly important to have some people with whom you can confide in.
Remember to never self-diagnose or self-medicate because it might lead to more harm than good.
Let us all do our part in getting rid of the stigma surrounding mental health problems by actively engaging in discussions about it. It is not something that we should treat as a taboo.
Thank you for reading this article!
If you want someone to talk to about random things, you can find me here:
Telegram: @zehrasky
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To show my appreciation for the support that I have been receiving, please accept a small gift I prepared for my first reader.
Mental health is very important. I am glad that you decided to share it with us here. Sadly, I experienced some of the signs that you have mentioned above. Depression isn't a joke. How I wish that people will pay attention to this matter.