Bacolod City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod is urging The City Health Office, thru Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, to have an active depression hotline number wherein the people of Bacolod could immediately contact and report cases of depression, and for the said office to take appropriate action.
The resolution authored by Councilor Israel Salanga said that an article published by the Philippine Star on February 27 entitled “Depression caused by heartbreak on the rise” posted that “The Healthy Philippine Alliance reported that the number of young Filipinos who felt depressive symptoms doubled from 2013 to 2021.
Likewise, the abovementioned article stated that “findings of the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexual Study (YAFS) showed that 62 percent of youth who felt depressed did not reach out to anyone and only two percent sought help from professionals,” it said.
The resolution said depression due to grief, regret, loss, break-up, a painful heartbreak, can develop into a mental health condition and if kept unmanaged, in worst case scenario, could lead to infliction of self-harm or commission of suicide.
A readily available hotline provided by the City Health Office (CHO) where any person experiencing depression could call or communicate and seek advice for initial action or response to depression, would be very helpful in preventing the serious adverse effects of depression which is self-infliction of harm and suicide, it said.
The City of Bacolod may tap the services of psychiatrist, a doctor who specializes in mental health including substance use disorders and are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems, to give advices to those calling the hotline, or to train casual employees so that they could properly give advice to those who are seeking help regarding depression, the resolution added. (Chrysee Semillano via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)