In the midst of a rapidly evolving situation like the COVID-19 outbreak full of uncertainty, it’s easy to feel stressed.
Many of us feel helpless, while some of us have even gone through extreme changes in our sleeping and eating habits. Yes, we need to think about ways to slow the spread of the virus, but we also need to think about our mental health and wellness during this time of social distancing. Many Filipinos are experiencing increased feelings of anxiety, powerlessness, impatience, irritability, or frustration. According to the members of Public Health Communications Advisory Network (PHCAN), these are all normal and expected feelings to have during this time. Their advice? To take note of these feelings and take care of our mental health in the same way we do our physical health.
PHCAN help us cope
As part of their weekly FB Live sessions every Saturday, PHCAN will be tackling the topic of mental health and wellness on April 18 at 2PM. You can check the replay thru this link
About the Speakers:
Leilanie Nicodemus is currently the director of the Gender Institute of UP Manila. She is also Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine of Seamen’s Hospital and has founded the WAVES program for Families of Seafarers. She is a family counselor and is a trained health professional educator. She has received training and certification on Health Professionals Education at Keele University and the University of the Philippines.
Disi Yap-Alba is a recognized and multi-awarded Health professional from Bohol. She was a GUSI peace Prize Winner For Medicine in 2019 and has been a National Director of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians for the past 20 years. She was the medical director of Englewood Hospital in Tagbilaran before her retirement. She is also a television and movie actress and producer with several productions to her name. She lives by herself as all her children are busy with their respective careers abroad.
Aileen Espina specializes in family medicine and received her MS in Public Health from the UP Open University. She was the Chief of Medical Professional Staff for the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, the last standing hospital after typhoon Yolanda. She was also the chief architect of EVRMC’s Build Back Better initiative.
