PAGPAKABUHI volunteers help manage depression

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Oct. 5 (PIA) -- From a handful of individuals with different backgrounds and functionalities, but one in their mission to be there for people who are on the edge due to depression, stress and schizophrenia, a group has been formed and committed to bring information, education and communication as well as psycho-physical interventions to help people struggling with depression. 

Now already a large group of volunteers that include househelps, Paghatag og Pagtagad sa Kabililhon sa Kinabuhi (PAGPAKABUHI) firmed up its beginnings on Sept. 8, "when we sat down informally to get to the alarming issue of depression and how it has caused people’s lives," said Dr. Fruserma Mary Uy, Bohol Provincial Health Office (PHO) Mental health focal person.

UNDERSTANDING DEPRESSION. It is helpful to know what is mental health, a certain sense of disciplining the mind, regaining trust and faith in God, getting other preoccupations as escape and drawing strength from family members to be able to surmount all these, said Jeanine Valerie Borromeo, a PHO nurse and PAGPAKABUHI volunteer, during the Kapihan sa PIA forum. (PIA Bohol) 

PAGPAKABUHI member volunteers say they share one advocacy and one vision guided by the Holy Spirit, and would strive to be there for every one needing help while fighting bouts of depression, said Uy during the Kapihan sa PIA held to mark the observation of Mental Health Month in October.

Uy said the group started as a response to the already alarming cases of suicide, which can also be traced to depression which leads to taking one’s life.

PAGPAKABUHI is now one of the many groups coming out to help people manage their stress and depressio. "We are accepting volunteers who only need to have the commitment needed to get to the task, in the true spirit of volunteerism," she said.

Part of the group’s interventions include promotion of mental health awareness through lectures and film, offers intervention services, psychotherapy and counseling and other adjunct therapies that also include teaching depressed people some new things to keep their mind off their struggles.

In coping with depression, it is helpful to know what is mental health, a certain sense of disciplining the mind, regaining trust and faith in God, getting other preoccupations as escape and drawing strength from family members to be able to surmount all these, according to Jeanine Valerie Borromeo, a PHO nurse and PAGPAKABUHI volunteer.

The formation of the group also came in time for the passing of the Mental Health Act or Republic Act 11036, explained Uy. 

The law mandates local government units to set aside a budget for mental health, and Bohol is joining the program now at the PHO and Department of Health (DOH). 

While Uy believes the dissolution of family relationships has upped the number of depression cases, she believes technology like gadgets has pushed man to lose his personality.

She also thinks suicide is contagious and that its reporting should only be handled by professionals. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

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