Just recently, in the waning days of 2018, it was a normal day for me and, at least from what I see, for everyone around me. And I wish it was for everyone. But it is not for quite a number of people around us.
I just read a letter on a social networking site, written by a college student, containing his last words for everyone he loves. It felt like a kick in the gut, reading things like that. It caused a sudden gush of questions inside my head and the biggest was, “Why?”
To answer this is to know and learn about “mental health.” It has been a subject that is talked about in the past few months. It is also a topic where most of us are not well informed of. Maybe it is because there is a stigma around mental illness that makes it hard for people to talk about. But is it really important to be aware of this?
According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the leading causes of ill-health and disability in the world. There are also statistics from the International Association for Suicide Prevention, indicating that around 3,000 people die every day by suicide. The estimated number of deaths will rise to over 1.5 million per year by 2020.
What about the Philippines? Being known as one of the happiest countries, it is surprising that we actually have the highest number of depressed people in Southeast Asia. Although our suicide rates are the lowest among Asean countries, we should still take into account the incidences that remained unrecorded due to the stigma.
The Philippine Statistics Authority also identified mental illness as the third most-common disability, next to visual and hearing impairments. Records show that most cases involved the youth.
Talking about the youth, the millennials are declared as the “most anxious generation.” Hugh Mackay, a social researcher, said that this is the consequence of having to keep up with the rate of change in our lives and fuelled by technological revolution that keeps us from making connections with other people.
Some people think that mental illness is just an excuse or just a feeling of sadness, not understanding that it is a real illness that people struggle with every day of their lives. This makes talking about it even harder, feeling judged or hearing things like “just get over it,” which are not helping.
This topic is important for businesses, as well. With the millennials as the majority of the work force, this reality affects the workplace. I just read an article on how depression affects the performance of the employees resulting in absenteeism or presenteeism. This creates a ripple effect—affecting employers, employees and the society.
There is a study that estimates that about $1 trillion are lost annually due to productivity issues. This makes mental health an important issue that employers should understand and support.
Fortunately, Filipinos are now becoming more aware of mental health. Recently, Republic Act 11036, or the Philippine Mental Health Act, was signed.
This will make people more aware of mental-health conditions. Those who require mental health-care treatment will now be able to exercise a full range of human rights and participate fully in society and at work, free from stigmatization and discrimination.
I hope that it continues to be better for everyone for the coming new year of 2019. We should always look after each other and be supportive of everyone’s wellness, not just those who need it. Let us continue to inform and educate about mental health and start taking care of our health—not just physical, but also the health of our minds.
This column accepts contributions from accountants, especially articles that are of interest to the accountancy profession, in particular, and to the business community, in general. These can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.
Erica Mae Gabito is a CPA and is graduate of BS Accountancy from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.