Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 21) — The World Health Organization defines stress as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. As the country recognized April as Stress Awareness Month, an expert shared to CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon ways to cope with stress.
Stress debriefing
Neil Francisco of the National Center for Mental Health said one must speak about the things they are stressed about, as talking to someone from their family, friends, or someone they trust can help them relieve some stress.
He added that self awareness of one’s emotions and having a habit of smiling are important to cope with a stressful event. However, it is still crucial to remember that there are available means to seek professional help.
“Kapag impaired na yung ating functionality, yung pang araw-araw na pagkikipagsalamuha sa ating pamilya, kaibigan, sa trabaho, yung ating social and occupational aspects, masasabi natin na kailangan na natin ng tulong sa mga professionals,” Francisco said.
[Translation: If one’s functionality is impaired, one’s everyday socialization with family, friends, and even at work, the social and occupational aspects, we can say that professional help is needed.]
\”We highly welcome this opportunity to open the conversation on the causes and impact of stress and talk about our mental health, because through these conversations, we dedicate ourselves to break and remove the stigma around mental health,\” he added.
Allot time for everything
Time management is also a good way to avoid stress. This includes having the time to engage in sports, listen to music, or go on vacation.
\”It is very important to have a power nap,\” Francisco said, or get a massage or engage in therapy such as aromatherapy.
Managing time also means time off from gadgets and social media.
“When it is time to have meals with the family, time to sleep, siguro bawas-bawasan natin yung paggamit ng ating [maybe we should lessen the use of our] mobile devices,” Francisco said.
