“The need to address the mental state of youth must be prioritized.” That was what Davao City Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte pointed out in a news report written by Ralph Lawrence Llemit.
“(The problem) will be tackled in the newly approved mental health ordinance (of the city), wherein solutions and approaches will be community-based,” said Villafuerte, chairman of the Sanggunian committee on health.
Mental health is one aspect in the Philippine society that is not given utmost attention. “With various societal issues that we are facing, we sometimes neglect to prioritize the mental health of every citizen of this nation without us knowing its effects on people’s day-to-day performance on education, employment, physical health and even relationships,” said Senator Loren Legarda in a statement.
Legarda issued the statement after President Rodrigo signed the Mental Health Act (Republic Act No. 11036), which seeks to provide affordable and accessible mental health services for Filipinos suffering from mental disabilities.
“No health without mental health,” the Philippine Star said in its editorial. It echoed the statement issued by Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first director general of the World Health Organization, who happened to be a psychiatrist. “Without mental health,” he said, “there can be no true physical health.”
Suicide is one of the mental health issues that needs to be addressed immediately. In the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60%, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO).
“The 2017 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study 4, conducted by the Commission on Population in Regio 11, indicated that suicide attempts among the youth increased from 21.3% in 2002 to 36.8% in 2013,” wrote Llemit in his report. “The level of suicide ideation, or suicidal thoughts, also rose from 13.4% in 2013 from 11.2% in 2002.”
Bullying, early pregnancy and depression – not necessarily in that order – are some of the reasons why children and teenagers resort to suicide, which is defined as the intentional taking of one’s life.
“Children may attempt suicide by eating crayons or ‘overdosing’ themselves with water, because the still have no concrete grasp as to what kills and what does not,” writes Dr. Jocelyn G. Gayares in an article which appeared in Health and Home. “More often than not, suicide attempts of children may be misdiagnosed as ‘accidents.’”
Teenagers have different methods of committing suicide. “(They) have more definite ways,” Dr. Gayares, a certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. “For females, it’s generally done through cutting of wrist or overdosing with medicines. For male teens, it’s by hanging themselves or jumping off a high building.”
On why there is a difference between female teens and male teens, Dr. Gayares offers this explanation: “Female teens are by nature beauty conscious; they want to still look beautiful in their graves. Males, on the other hand, are generally more aggressive.”
Let’s take a closer look at each reason of why they commit suicide in the first place:
Bullying: “A school is a student’s second home, and assumed to be one of the safest places for children. Unfortunately, for some this is where they experience abuse,” says a statement from the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF). “Schools become the settings that expose children to violence, not just from their peers but also from teachers and school personnel.”
“Many parents are unaware that (bullying) is happening because they never discuss it with their kids and because bullying is often a kind of underground activity that many children won’t report,” wrote Dr. Richard B. Goldbloom in an article which appeared in Reader’s Digest.
In the Philippines Graphic article, Regina Sevilla-Sibal explained to author Fil V. Elefante when bullying happens. “Bullying occurs when the target has no opportunity or way to balance the equation,” said Sibal, an experienced school administrator and educator.
Teen pregnancy: Studies conducted by the World Bank from 2000 to 2003 ranked the Philippines as one of the top 10 countries with an increasing number of teenage mothers.
In Davao City, for instance, the trend in the number of teenage pregnancies over the past three years is “increasing.” According to a report which appeared in a local daily, the number of teenage pregnancies posted a 12.74% increase in 2012, 13.10% in 2013, and 12.10% in 2014.
Most of the increasing trend came from those living in rural and urban poor areas. The reasons cited were inaccessibility of information and service, and tradition. “There is a high number of teenage pregnancies in rural and urban poor areas because they are less accessible to information and services, while some of the indigenous people have a tradition relating to teenage pregnancy,”the officer-in-charge for the CHO Population Division was quoted as saying.
Depression: “After anxiety, depression is the most common mental health disorder,” notes The Merck Manual of Medical Information. Statistics show that 10% of people who see their doctors for what they think is a physical problem are actually experiencing depression.
“People who become depressed typically do so in their 20s, 30s, or 40s, although depression can begin at almost any age,” the Merck manual points out. “Depression affects a number of children and adolescents.”
The WHO defines health as something physical, mental and spiritual. Based on a survey conducted in 2000 by the National Statistics Office, mental illness is the third most common form of disability in the country – after visual and hearing impairments. For every 100,000 Filipinos, about 88 of them suffer from mental illness due to heredity, psychosocial development and substance abuse.
It is not surprising why suicide cases in the country has been growing over a period of 20 years. The WHO says the Philippines has suicide rates (per 100,000) of 2.5 for men and 1.7 for women as of 1993.
“Further adding to the woes of those afflicted with mental health illnesses is the shortage in qualified mental health professionals,” Legarda pointed out.
