"The Diary Game Season 3 October 13,2021 | Mental Health Awareness Group Session On Disconnections & Depression, You Are #NotAlone" @sakura1012

October 13,2021, today is my scheduled responsibility to facilitate one of our group sessions for my internship in graduate school. I am currently a student of Clinical Psychology in Cebu Doctors' University one of the most prestigious medical school here in Cebu. As part of my clinical requirement for my on the job training, we conduct free focus group discussions on various issues and concerns pertaining to mental health. Amidst the global pandemic that we are all suffering from, our group "CDU-ALAYON" aims to extend our help to others who needs support psychologically. One of our goals is to foster collaboration and encourage a positive environment by lessening the feeling of isolation and sadness in this trying times. We seek to raise awareness on the essence of Self-Love and managing our thoughts and emotions for us and for our families. It is important that we discuss these topics to elevate the importance of Mental Health Awareness and to prevent our psychological baggage in disrupting our daily life.

For today's session I gave a short talk on a very sensitive topic: Depression & Loneliness.

As a moderator of this online circle, we talked about the stigma surrounding depression and during our FGD or Focus Group Discussion, I encouraged everyone to share openly through positive communication. There is no need to be scared or nervous in sharing their feelings or thoughts since this group fosters a healthy and supportive environment- free of biases and judgements. I politely asked my participants to let loose and told them to feel free in sharing their thoughts. With all the pain and fear we experience this year,it is definitely not easy to fall in love with our lives however we must always bear in mind that all of this shall pass and we should fought back against loneliness as much as possible. Sufferers of depression should know that there are people like us who will try to understand the emptiness lethargy they’re coming from. I shared to them that it is important that we are always there for our loved ones when they come through the other side and if we are the ones whose thoughts are empty then we shouldn't hesitate to ask for help because we are worth it.

For privacy purposes and confidentiality of the Focus Group Discussion, faces and names of the participants are blurred.

I emphasized during our FGD that When we feel down, empty and troubled we should always remember that we are not alone. A lot of people loves us and cares for us and it can be from our family, friends or from our significant others. Support groups will always be there to listen to us without judgement. So if you know someone struggling with depression, encourage them gently to seek out options. If they feel guilty or ashamed point out that depression is a medical condition and should be treated equally important with our physical health. It’s not a weakness or a personality trait and they shouldn’t expect themselves to just get over it. Even just talking about depression openly can help. Open conversations about mental illness help erode stigma and make it easier for people to ask for help. We from Alayon-Cdu will always be available to lend an ear. I ended our FGD with this amazing thought:

Let’s always remind ourselves that we need to stay because life is beautiful.

Sharing one of my diary moments to Steemit Philippines as my entry for this day’s #DiaryGame. I am calling my friends @jenesa,@monsiou and @keyryalle to join in this inspiring contest!

       _{@sakura1012 is an ambivert, a non-conformist, a clinical psychology graduate student, a proud feminist and a life traveler. She is currently a part time writer- a mental health advocate and a mental health professional. She promotes mental health awareness and psychology related topics through her blogs. Join her as she do the things that she loves by putting her thoughts into words and by raising her voice though her articles.}