By Leslie Ann G. Aquino
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said people should be cautious when it comes to the so-called norms or criteria of mental health.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
"I am warning everyone, while it is good that we are now quite open in discussing it, to be cautious about the so-called norms or criteria of mental health," he told participants of the Sixth Philippine Conference on New Evangelization at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Friday.
"Sometimes people, they say, that to be considered mentally healthy you don’t experience loneliness, you don’t experience frustration," added Tagle.
He said due to this, an individual becomes more mentally disturbed.
But the cardinal said one should also realize that just because a person experienced a moment of loneliness, it did not mean he was already mentally unstable.
"Not every day would be okay, not every moment is a feel good moment, but it doesnt mean that you are mentally unstable because of a moment of loneliness or even so called desolation," said Tagle.
His Eminence believes the capability of the person to deal with frustrations should be part of mental health.
"I think we should count as part of mental health the capability to deal with frustrations. The capacity to face fleeting things that's stability," Tagle said.
"It is when you know how to handle it, how you can face it and you dont lose hope, then you are healthy because you are normal. That's one thing that all people go through," he added.
The cardinal discussed this during the "Heart to Heart with Cardinal Chito” part of the program wherein invited personalities shared their faith experience to the crowd.
Among the sharers were TV host Robi Domingo, volleyball player Sisi Rondina, among others.
Tagle introduced PCNE in 2013 as a local response to the call of the new evangelization.