Maxene Magalona underscored the importance of open communication in maintaining healthy family relationships, particularly when it comes to mental health.
In an Instagram post on May 8, Magalona urged families to practice conscious communication and to acknowledge the issues that need to be discussed, instead of just sweeping them under the rug. She pointed out that ignoring family problems will only result in them piling up and eventually imploding, causing distance and division among family members.
“It’s #mentalhealthawarenessmonth and my dream is to see more families all over the world practice the art of conscious communication,” she said, pointing out the “sad reality (that) most families live in denial and refuse to acknowledge what needs to be discussed especially when it comes to mental health and healing.”
“Because these issues bring up a lot of awkward and uncomfortable feelings, we tend to just sweep things under the rug and hope they go away instead of actually dealing with them head-on. When family issues and problems are constantly swept under the rug, they get piled up and eventually implode—whether we like it or not,” she added.
Magalona further said that mental health issues are a natural part of life and should be accepted and addressed as a family, rather than being avoided.
“Avoiding uncomfortable conversations creates distance and division among family members,” she emphasized, adding that pretending as if nothing is wrong and continuing to distract themselves with worldly pleasures undermine relationships.
“We continue living like this without realizing that we are already drifting apart from one another until the relationships just naturally fizzle out and dissolve,” she noted, adding that this can be avoided if people “take the time to consciously communicate and work towards understanding each other, however, our relationships strengthen and deepen.”
Creating safe spaces in homes where healthy and honest communication can be practiced is important, according to Magalona. Conflict should be resolved in a calm and compassionate manner, instead of resorting to fighting and shouting at each other.
Safe spaces in homes, she said, are areas where one can practice healthy and honest communication without needing to get overly emotional.
“When we can allow ourselves to be vulnerable with our loved ones, that is when true healing begins,” she said.
To better achieve this, one should avoid fighting and shouting at each other and resolve the conflict in a manner that is calm and compassionate.
“Instead of completely ignoring one another, we can pray for our loved ones and hope for the best. Instead of judging and blaming one another, we can take responsibility for our own healing and make the decision to work on ourselves,” she said, believing that “healing happens in homes where God is present.”
“And we invite God into our homes when we can learn how to speak to each other with consciousness and compassion,” she said. EDV