Joaqs' Dev 108 Journal

Miguel Joaquin Roque

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The Struggle of Having Mental Illnesses Today

Growing up, I slowly started to realize how inefficient mental health services in the Philippines were. It started when my younger brother, Renzo, was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder 14 years ago. During the early years of his diagnosis, my parents and I gave him the support and treatment he needed in order for him to keep up with his fellow classmates. However, as the eldest in the family, I felt helpless and devastated each time he’d always fall short in school and would always have to go through remedial class every summer. Furthermore, I could only imagine how frustrated he must’ve felt during the years as he’d be judged by his peers as “not smart enough”. I had to watch him struggle throughout grade school even though our family did everything they could in order for him to get promoted to the next grade. A few years later, we decided to pull him out of Ateneo and enroll him in Multiple Intelligence, a progressive school not far away from Ateneo. Thinking that this would be the best decision, we realized later that no visible change was seen in Renzo’s progress with regard to his ADD. While knowing fully that he does his best in everything that he does, it still saddens me up to this day to see my brother struggle with his online classes just because of his recurring ADD. 

Integrating what I have learned in my DEV 189.83i class which talks about public health interventions, only 5% of our country’s health expenditures is spent on mental health services (WHO, 2020).This shouldn’t be the case as poor mental health is also a risk factor for chronic physical conditions. The government should be able to realize that mental health is as important. In addition to this, it frightens me how individuals with mental health disorders pay mostly or entirely out-of-pocket for services and medicines. In addition it has come to my attention how Philhealth insurance does not cover children’s mental health and how access to children’s mental health facilities is uneven across the country, favoring those living near the main cities. (Estrada et al. 2020) Given today’s context, it is vital to understand that these children are in need of guidance and support by the elderly especially when tackling their own problems in their online schooling. 

I truly resonate with Youth for Mental Health Coalition’s advocacy with regard to working to elevate the Filipino youth’s consciousness on mental health and end the stigma on mental illness since this problem has been recurring in the Philippines for a long time and should be brought to attention. Although this is a problem that also affects children, I believe that we too have to be responsible for their own mental health since we serve as outlets for them to talk about their feelings towards several issues.

  References: 1. Estrada, C., Usami, M., Satake, N., Gregorio, E., Leynes, C., Balderrama, N., Fernandez de Leon, J., Concepcion, R., Tuazon Timbalopez, C., Tsujii, N., Harada, I., Masuya, J., Kihara, H., Kawahara, K., Yoshimura, Y., Hakoshima, Y. and Kobayashi, J., 2020. Current Situation And Challenges For Mental Health Focused On Treatment And Care In Japan And The Philippines - Highlights Of The Training Program By The National Center For Global Health And Medicine. 2. Who.int. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/philippines_who_aims_report.pdf> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

[sheangelmorales]

Guess this fallacy

Guess me #1

Duterte had a SONA last night, today I’m in a good mood. Hence, Duterte’s SONA is the reason I’m having a good mood today. :)

Guess me #2

My mom say’s I’m pretty, I believe I’m pretty because my mom says so. 

Guess me #3

Me: I plan to graduate college, get a job, and be successful.

Amy: So are you saying that only college graduates can be successful?

Guess me #4

Oh you’re from Davao? You must be a DDS. 

Guess me #5

If you’re not a DDS, then you’re a Dilawan.

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1. Post Hoc ergo propter hoc

2. Circular Reasoning

3.Strawman Fallacy

4.Overgeneralization

5. False Dilemma

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Logical Fallacy Quiz

1. The temperature has dropped this morning, and I also have a headache. The cold weather must be causing my headache.

2. Kris Aquino Siopao commercial: In the commercial, celebrity and endorser Kris Aquino states that the Siopao was “The best thing and super sarap!”.

3. Duterte’s argument with the church: Duterte diverts and avoids the real issues pressed against him by attacking the character of the bishops and priests.

4. With regard to the Covid-19 guidlines, Duterte warns the Filipinos that either they follow the covid-19 guidlines or be shot to death since he believes that giving trouble to medical workers is a serious crime.

5. If we let the Government control our media platforms, before you know it, they’ll be surveilling all our private messages.

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Letter to Youth for Mental Health Coalition: Mentally, I’m here

A letter addressed to: Youth for Mental Health Coalition ([email protected])

I am writing this letter to fully extend my support in your organization, Youth for Mental Health Coalition. Your non-government organization truly resonates with what I truly advocate for with regard to working to elevate the Filipino youth’s consciousness on mental health and end the stigma on mental illness.More specifically, it is commendable how the organization provides support for the youth by inviting speakers who tackle different issues and offer solutions in the aspect of mental health. 

Growing up from a time when mental health hasn’t been fully brought into attention by the Filipino’s, most of us during our early stages in life were taught to bottle up our feelings to a point wherein it drastically affects one’s mental mental health. The children and youth would think that tending to their own mental health would be a sign of weakness which was why children would rather hide their own problems to their own parents/teachers. Furthermore, children would rather not discuss such a topic since in their eyes, was deemed insignificant to talk about. This problem has been recurring in the Philippines for a long time and should be brought to attention. Although this is a problem that affects children, I believe that we too have to be responsible for their own mental health since we serve as outlets for them to talk about their feelings towards several issues.

In light with the Covid-19 crisis, children today have been struggling with online learning since this isn’t the best solution for themselves to unlock their full potential. “With the sudden halt to in-person learning, many students missed their friends, yearned to be out of the house, developed erratic sleep habits and drove their (often working) parents crazy. On top of that, many were dealing with the trauma of sick or dying family members, economic hardship and disruption to the life they once had.” Another problem would be that, children are delicate and fragile which is why inviting these children to online forums and discussion towards mental health would be deemed difficult as they may think that it would be another class they would have to attend to. Instead of seeing online learning as an avenue for them to learn even more, the youth and children often view online learning as something required in order to be promoted to the next grade. 

However, I believe that these issues are still present today and are still affecting children negatively. Which is why I have found recommendation to further amplify our advocacy:

Mentally, Im here

Knowing that children are not as capable as the other youth in terms of calling for help, being able to capture parents and teachers would be recommended since their age range serve as role models to their own children and students. This is for Filipino parents and educators to be equipped with the necessary tools and skill for identifying the mental health issues the youth face in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nowadays, children are stuck at home while their role models and teachers are not physically there in order to tend to their own children’s emotional needs. Parents and teachers become busy and stressed due to other several factors. A solution to mitigate this problem is to to promote understanding and sensitivity between Filipino parents (or educators) and their children (or students) on mental health through facilitating dialogue, crafting relevant modules, and holding effective webinars on mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to do this, I suggest creating a project initiative called “Mentally I’m here”, A webinar series for parents and teachers on the appropriate support for youth struggling with mental health issues.

The webinar series will specifically tackle the following audience:  1. Parents of children or teens that may have mental health problems,

2. Teachers with students [who may be dealing with] mental health problems

3.Youth workers 

4.Adults in close communication with children or teens that may have mental health problems

Through the webinar series, several aspects of mental health problems will be discussed such as:

1. Common mental health issues in teens

2. Debunking myths and misconceptions about childhood/teenage mental health

3. Behavioral cues for early detection

4. Mental health issues caused or worsened by the transition into the “new normal” of COVID-19 (quarantine, online schooling, etc.)

Throughout the webinar series, it is key to invite experts on youth mental health in order to further encapsulate our mission and vision. In order to do this, suggesting to partner with Philippine General Hospital Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Department would be possible since the department offers free consultation for those in need of mental health services. Furhtermore, the organization can assist us in crafting modules on common mental health issues in the youth and how to detect behavioral cues for early diagnosis. 

In addition the webinar series will then further equip parents and educators the following communication strategies in order to talk to your child/student with sensitivity in the new normal of work-from-home and online communication:

1. Appropriate body language

2.Effective verbal communication (DOs and DON’Ts) 

3. Effective coping mechanisms

4.Effective online communication

5.Developing emotional resilience

I truly commend your organization as it provides the youth the necessary support and make them realize that it is alright to talk about their struggles and their own mental health. Your call to action has brought such a large impact towards our youth and society today and I truly thank you for everything that you all have done in order to assist in creating such a wonderful environment for our youth and children. Hopefully, we may be able to aid you  as your organization moves forward to meet your own mission and vision.

references:

Richards, E. (n.d.). Kids’ mental health can struggle during online school. Here’s how teachers are planning ahead. [online] USA TODAY. Available at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/31/covid-online-school-kids-mental-health-teachers/5529846002/. 

Manila Bulletin. (2020). Students say they have a hard time with online classes. [online] Available at: https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/04/students-say-they-have-a-hard-time-with-online-classes/.

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Logical Fallacies Assignment

1. Kris Aquino Siopao commercial: In the commercial, celebrity and endorser Kris Aquino states that the Siopao was “The best thing and super sarap!”.

2. Duterte’s argument with the church: Duterte diverts and avoids the real issues pressed against him by attacking the character of the bishops and priests. 

3. With regard to the Covid-19 guidlines, Duterte warns the Filipinos that either they follow the covid-19 guidlines or be shot to death since he believes that giving trouble to medical workers is a serious crime. 

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Individual Response #1: Module 0 readings

What are your reflections and issues regarding the three readings?

For this assignment, I was assigned to be in Group 5 and be groupmates with Elke Carmenforte, Sheangel Morales and Leila Ramirez. Through our group discussion and by being groupmates with them, they helped me catch a glimpse of what this class has to offer this quarter and how fascinating this class will be.  My preferred social media platform would be that of Tumblr blogs  since I believe that writing one will fully portray my thoughts towards development communication and communication for development.

Through reading the three articles, I noticed the several definitions of development communication and how it has evolved throughout the years. I started to think what definition was best to capture the idea of development communication. Servaes showcased a few of the several definitions with regard to this topic and it is commendable how humanity evolved each definition throughout the years. Comparing the current definition which was provided by Quebral stating development communication as “the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential” to the other definitions, at first glance, I found Quebrals definition somewhat problematic. Although truly specific, the definition revolves around economic growth. I agree how development communication is a key player in economic growth. However, these definition strays away from the earlier definitions in which they define development communication as a social process wherein all sectors should participate and be involved for development. From someone who barely knows about what development communication, Quebral’s and Chaterjee’s definitions were difficult to grasp.

Dwelling more into Quebral’s and Chaterjee’s  article, I began to understand some of the terms that I had a hard time dealing with such as what the difference was between development communication and communication for development. At first glance it may be difficult to understand, however, these definitions seem to be interconnected and have evolved from the former definition upon reading and analyzing these articles. In addition to this, I was able to understand why the definitions of both authors mostly revolved around the idea of Economic Development. Although this kind of development is easy to measure given the aid of Sustainable development goals, social, moral and political development were barely mentioned in these articles. It is truly important to remember that these other branches of development serve as key players to true development. To conclude, Although these definitions and articles have aided me in understanding the relationship between development communication and communication development a little bit more,I believe I have only scratched the surface with regard to this debate as there are still several questions I have yet to discover the answer.