Long before it became a buzzword, the Philippine Daily Inquirer was already publishing stories about mental health.

For years, the paper has come out with columns and features on the subject, with the intention of educating our readers about its importance.

We’ve published essays, too, from both staff and contributors who write candidly about their own struggles with depression and anxiety. These personal pieces resonate with readers as evidenced by the amount of feedback we get from them.

So many messages

I first wrote about my mental health journey for the paper in April 2016, four months after I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety disorder. The very day the story “Turning the bad into good—how I used depression as my personal trainer” came out, I received so many messages from readers through Facebook, email and Instagram. “My friend read your article about your struggle against depression and anxiety disorder. She cried after reading it because she could relate with what you’re going through.”

“I just read your article. Keep fighting . . . I’m a husband and father and I don’t know why or where I got it. Every day is a struggle for me.”

“Like you, I also battled depression . . . ”

“I want you to know that you are brave for putting it out there . . . I’m still wary who I tell about my diagnosis.”

“I read your article in today’s paper . . . My daughter is suffering from depression.”

“Thank you so much for sharing your story. You are so brave to be able to share it to the public . . . ”

“Help, my daughters say they are depressed.”

“Your article about depression really resonated with me. It will shock the people close to me if they knew I was depressed. I don’t know where to start or whom to consult.

What’s the first thing to do?”

“Can you please share your doctor’s details? I would like to have myself checked. Been struggling for a few months and maybe it’s time to talk to an expert.”

Issues with anxiety

“My son is having issues with anxiety, can you please recommend a doctor he can see?”

“I’ve also been looking for a competent psychiatrist and psychologist for some time now.” “I wish my daughter will have the same experience as you with your doctor.”

Since then, I’ve written other stories about mental health (“Sadly, there is no Tinder for shrinks,” “Don’t go off your meds—trust me, I learned the hard way,” “15 lessons living with depression has taught me” and others), and I am just one of the bylines in the newspaper that have devoted space and effort to raising awareness about mental health.

There’s Cathy Babao, whose columns focused on navigating grief. There’s Alya Honasan, whose beautifully written essays always enlighten. In one, she wrote, “Clinical depression is a serious, legitimate illness; it’s not a character flaw, a sign of weakness or a personality defect. Yes, it is a mental illness, but it doesn’t mean that a depressive person is permanently incapacitated, untrustworthy or out of his or her mind.”

Spreading awareness

Even our student correspondents are devoted to spreading awareness about mental health and self-care, like Natalia Olfindo, who wrote in a recent article, “If you twisted your ankle, wouldn’t you seek a doctor for help? Why wouldn’t you do the same for your mental health?”

We also come out with features on alternative ways people are trying to take care of their mental health—we’ve come out with stories on holistic medicine, sound healing, yoga, even the way one’s diet affects one’s mental health.

And then during the pandemic, at a time when mental health concerns were at an all-time high, we went a step further. Inquirer partnered with Globe Telecom and, with our hardworking sales and marketing teams, we held a series of webinars about mental health, each one dedicated to a different demographic.

The panels featured the powerful voices of experts and mental health advocates like Dr. Anna Cristina Tuazon, Dr. Carolina Uno-Rayco, Dr. Angela Cuadro, Dr. Gia Sison, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Ronald Recio, Iza Calzado, Ari Verzosa, Jeannie Goulbourn and Kiana Valenciano.

Safe spaces

The #StartaNewDay sessions were more than just a webinar—they were a way of providing safe spaces where people could talk about mental health with no fear of judgment. During the streams, audience members asked the experts questions and opened up about their own experiences.

We promote mental health organizations, projects and events that we think would be beneficial to our readers as well.

Some months ago, we did a feature on Milagros Rollinas, who was among the first batch of responders for Hopeline, the country’s first 24/7 suicide prevention hotline.

Hopeline is run by NGF Mindstrong, the foundation put up by fashion designer Jeannie Goulbourn after losing her beloved daughter Natasha to suicide in 2002.

Rollinas, now Hopeline’s program head, shared with us some of her unforgettable calls. She also told us how, during the pandemic, Hopeline observed a 300-percent increase in calls, with callers between the ages of 10 and 95. They get calls from people who lost their jobs, who are struggling with blended learning, who are having difficulty with adjusting to being confined at home. This was why, Rollinas said, Hopeline needed to raise funds—they need to add more responders to take the deluge of calls.

The story “Tales from a suicide hotline responder” got a lot of attention. And, we were happy to hear from Rollinas that many people donated after reading it. This is the kind of impact we hope to make with our stories—we hope for our words to leap out of the pages and lead to real-life change.

Our dedication to doing what we can to help our readers stay healthy in every way continues. We have exciting things planned for next year. We may be 36 years old, but we’re just getting started. INQ

Need help? Contact Hopeline at tel. 2919, 0917-5584673, 0918-8734673, 88044673