00:00Sarah, how are you right now?
00:01I'm very happy. I'm very happy to just live life and to let life flow.
00:12Parang yung state ko ngayon, I'm very surrendered and I'm very connected.
00:16Meaning, I'm creating the things that I want to create, the events, my classes,
00:23and then I attend other people's events. I'm connecting with people.
00:26Parang I'm letting life flow. Ganon yung nangyayari sa akin ngayon.
00:30Parang sasabi na parang your mental health advocacy.
00:33Yes, yes.
00:33And your ambassadors, can you tell us something about it?
00:36Yes, I'm very fortunate to have been invited by the Bureau of Fire Protection.
00:42They invited me to become the official mental health ambassadors
00:46kasi they started this suicide hotline.
00:49It's called Galingang Bumbero.
00:51Sa sobrang dami nilang mga nakukuhang calls, pati mga suicidal calls, nakakatanggap sila.
00:58Okay.
00:58So, gumawa sila ng separate phone, separate hotline para doon.
01:02And then, one year na. One year na ang anniversary.
01:05On the first anniversary, they got me as the ambassadors
01:08para matulungan ko sila to promote the hotline.
01:11Okay.
01:12Kasi for that one year, they received 300 calls and 32 of those calls were suicidal, napigilan nila.
01:19Okay.
01:19So, yun yung parang tulong na ginagawa natin sa mga kababayan natin when they feel alone.
01:25Pwede silang tumawag sa number na to, 0962-458-4237.
01:30Ang sasagot sa kanila, mga kalingang bumbero natin.
01:34Sila ang magre-respond, kakausapin.
01:36Kasi diba sa mental health, pag wala kang kausap, pakiramdam mo, nag-iisa ka.
01:39Yes, yes.
01:40Doon dumadating yung mga iniisip mong magpakamatay ka na.
01:43Yes, sure, sure.
01:44Kaya thank you so much to the Bureau of Fire Protection for doing this Kalingang Bumbero hotline.
01:49Marami po sila natinit.
01:50That's good.
01:51Bakit ka mag-design to be a mental health coach?
01:55Because of my own personality.
01:56Yes, sure.
01:57Napagdaanan ko kasi siya.
01:59Narealize ko na I was going through a lot of mental health struggles.
02:04And hindi ko siya nagustuhan.
02:06Kumbaga, naging curious ako sa paano ko ba ito maaayos.
02:10So, I started seeking help.
02:12I started going to a therapist, a psychiatrist.
02:15And the more I studied myself, the more ko mas naintindihan kung bakit ako ganun.
02:21At that time kasi, maano ako, yung ugali ko, hindi ko gusto, hindi ako aligned with myself.
02:29Parang I did not know who I was.
02:31I was lost.
02:32So, that was when I started studying, reading books on mental health.
02:36And I realized that the reason why I was like that was because pag mga bata tayo, marami tayong pinagdadaanan.
02:42And habang lumalaki tayo, marami tayong mga na-experience both good and bad.
02:47And na-apektohan nung mga experiences na yun na si-shape nila yung pagkatao natin.
02:52Ngayon.
02:53Ngayon bilang adults.
02:55So, kung nalilito ka at you feel confused kung bakit ka ganyan, it means meron kang kailangan alamin tungkol sa sinin mo.
03:04And that's why we go to our professionals.
03:06Para tilungan nila tayo kasi inaral nila.
03:09Marcia, yung mga mental health mo, ano yung mga effects yun?
03:12May anxiety ka ba?
03:13Ah, oo.
03:14May ka makatulog?
03:15Okay, ang mga mental health struggles ko noon, I was experiencing a lot of rage.
03:21Of what?
03:22Rage.
03:23Rage.
03:23Anger management issues.
03:24Yes, yes, yes.
03:25So, because I was not able to express my anger in a healthy way, naipon siya.
03:30So, sumasamog ako.
03:31Yun ang in-explain ng psychiatrist.
03:33So, ang nangyayari sa atin, nagkakaroon tayo ng mga emotional imbalance kasi hindi natin ine-express yung emotions natin regularly and in a healthy way.
03:43Kasi nakatago.
03:43Kasi nakatago.
03:44So, when we suppress our emotions, they get stuck and unfortunately, they cause diseases in the body.
03:51Okay.
03:51So, that's why I became passionate about this advocacy because I want people to understand their connection to their emotions is very important.
03:58That they need to feel in order to heal.
04:01They will not be able to heal if they do not feel what they are really feeling.
04:06Eh, alam naman natin sa kultuna natin, diba?
04:07We don't really admit what we're feeling.
04:09Kasi natatakot tayo or nalumog po or ayaw lang natin harapin.
04:13Yes, yes.
04:14Pero ang natutunan ko in my journey, that's why I'm sharing it, is there's nothing to be afraid of.
04:19You can heal as long as you are not afraid to feel your emotions kasi si God will be there naman with you.
04:26So, I feel like your pain, your pain is inside of you, it's there, para mas mapalapit ka kay God.
04:33Yes.
04:34Yun yung pinaniniwalaan ko.
04:35Pero nagkaroon ka ng mga depresyon?
04:37Yung ikong iya-iya, kayong ganoon yung...
04:40Palagi, like my, my, I would be depressed and then biglang I would be happy and then I would be, alam mo yun, iba-iba.
04:47It was like a rollercoaster of emotions.
04:50Pero the overall state that I was in at that time was, I was disconnected from myself, I was depressed, I was not happy, I did not know who I was.
05:01So, para akong disconnected from myself. Kaya minsan some people, they go into, you know, alcoholism, nag-alcohol, nag-umiinom ng alcohol, nag-take ng drugs, nag-over shopping sila.
05:14Kasi ayaw lang nilang harapin kung ano yung nasa loob nila, yung nararamdaman nila, they want to numb that pain.
05:20Kaya ang ginagawa ko now is I create wellness events para kung saan yung mga community members namin who are going through this same process of healing,
05:32makakapunta sila sa mga events namin at doon sila makakapag-practice ng yoga and meditation para maramdaman nila yung mga feelings nila.
05:39And again, this is not an overnight thing, kailangan it's a practice.
05:43It's not going to happen overnight, you are going to keep doing this.
05:47And I think for me, part of my purpose is to remind people to stay connected to themselves.
05:53And to not give their life and their power away to other people.
05:57Maps yun na nga sa mga.
05:59Yung nga parang sa mga sort of overnight process, when you start the healing, hindi rin siya nga doon, minsan pa ka ba?
06:05Parang what is something you want them to know based sa journey mo rin na parang minsan pa, okay na yung mga oops ka ulit?
06:12Yes, yes. Ang natutunan ko is, the hard way is the only way.
06:18Hindi natin pwedeng madalihin. Wala tayong pwedeng gawing shortcuts.
06:22We cannot always want to take the easy way out.
06:26The hard way is the only way, meaning you have to go through the process.
06:30And ako, in my healing journey, yes, inaamin ko po, I have fallen back to my old ways.
06:36Paulit-ulit, it becomes a cycle.
06:38But that's why you have to keep going.
06:41Kasi you will fall back to your old ways.
06:43You are only human.
06:44Hindi siya overnight.
06:45So, even if you're trying to change, even if sinusubukan mo ng magbago ng ugali,
06:51babalik at babalik ka one way or another.
06:53And that is the way you will be able to change.
06:55Kasi nga, nakikita mo kung ano yung mga nag-trigger sa'yo.
06:59Nakikita mo kung ano yung mga response mo.
07:01So, pag inaral mo at tumuloy-tuloy ka, mas mababago mo siya.
07:07Pero kailangan mong huwag mag-give up.
07:09So, yun yung sinasabi ko na don't give up even if you feel discouraged.
07:14Even if you fall back to your old ways, don't judge yourself.
07:17Keep picking yourself up.
07:19This is how you will grow.
07:21It gets better.
07:22You have to keep doing it.
07:24Don't give up.
07:25Hindi ka naman damating sa point na you want to come to suicide.
07:27Hindi naman ganun.
07:28Meron na.
07:29Meron na.
07:30Tumadating yung mga thoughts na yan.
07:32Yung suicide dati.
07:32Oo, like, okay, may time na sobrang lugmok ka, sobrang depressed,
07:38and you're thinking about all your problems.
07:40And then when you look out the window, you start to think,
07:44kaya pala may mga nagpapakamantay.
07:46Alam mo yun, hindi ko man naisip, hindi ko man siya trinay gawin,
07:50pero napaisip ako na kaya pala.
07:52Na kaya pala kasi naramdaman ko yung pain.
07:55Then when I looked out the window, na-realize ko,
07:57ito rin pala yung pain na naramdaman nila bako sila tumaloy.
08:00So parang for me, naisip ko, kaya pala.
08:03And so when I went through that pain, and I really felt it,
08:06I realized, it is a make or break.
08:09It's either you give up or you keep going.
08:12And so for me, even if it was painful, I still continued, and I did not give up.
08:18Kasi alam ko that there is a reason.
08:21There is something that I will be rewarded.
08:26One way, I am focused on my path, and alam ko that God will make a way for me.
08:31So this path of healing, it really brought me closer to God.
08:34People ask me what healed me.
08:35I cannot say anything other than God.
08:38God talaga.
08:39It sounds preachy, it sounds corny, but I will never be ashamed to say that it was God.
08:45And I really felt God's presence in my life during my lowest moment,
08:48because I opened myself up to Him.
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