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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Calls to NCMH on mental concerns mount

Calls to NCMH on mental concerns mount

Published Oct 13, 2020 10:05 pm

The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH)  has seen an "alarming'' increase in calls to its support hotline amid the coronavirus disease pandemic, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said. 

“From the National Center for Mental Health hotline, we saw an alarming spike of calls,” said DOH National Mental Health Program Manager Dr. Frances Prescilla Cuevas during a recent online forum. 

The NCMH is currently receiving around 32 to 37 calls per day, adding that the monthly average calls is at 907, said Cuevas. 

“There would be 53 or more calls monthly which are suicide-related calls,” added Cuevas. 

“Comparing all of these figures in 2019, it showed a very noticeable rise in the number of calls daily and monthly by around 50 percent,” she added. 

Most of the calls that the NCMH is receiving are due to  anxiety related concerns, asking referral to a psychiatrist, and inquiry regarding hospital services, said Cuevas

"Biggest sources of stress would usually be workload and the COVID-19, financial problems, family problems,” said Cuevas as she cited the results of a survey conducted by the Philippine Mental Health Association. 

“The coping mechanisms that usually Filipinos would employ is acceptance, praying, meditating,” she added.

The Health official said that the survey also showed that Filipinos are “looking forward to the future that soon the pandemic is going to end, the vaccine is going to be around, and life can go back to normal as we know it.”

Cuevas also emphasized the importance of having a “sense of control.”

“A good advice is we need to have a sense of control over what we are doing. We have to choose what we watch or listen . Make sure that your sources are credible and avoid situations that may trigger or have an affect on your mental health,” she said. 

If you are in need of mental health support, you may call the NCMH Crisis Hotline at (0917) 899-8727 or 7-989-8727 or 1553.

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