Zonta advocates resilience, mental health wellbeing in times of pandemic

CEBU CITY --- The Zonta Club of Cebu II organized a webinar on the topic, “Resilience in the Midst of the Covid-19 Crisis” with mental health advocate Cathy Babao as resource person to mark October 10 as National Mental Health Day and to push for resilience and mental health wellbeing in times of pandemic.

Participants in the webinar included club members, GAD Focal persons of local government units, barangay health workers, women’s desk officers and LGU officials of Mandaue City, a constant partner of Zonta Club in advancing its mission and vision to empower women.

According to Zonta that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental health and well-being of many people in our community and around the world.   Studies have shown that nearly half of respondents expressed that they are feeling a decline in their mental health since the novel coronavirus impacted our usual way of life. 

Experts believe that the resulting economic recession, increased isolation, and decreased access to physical or mental health care as a result of COVID-19 will have long term implications on the mental health of individuals, Zonta added.

The Zonta Club of Cebu realized that its partners at the barangay level require and deserve continuing information to better equipped them to handle the challenges of mental health issues that arise during these abnormal times.

The goals of the webinar were to assist and supply the barangay personnel with skills and competences that will help them cope with the mental health fallout of the Pandemic: Anxiety, Stress, Fear

Babao’s webinar discussed the possible physical, emotional and mental symptoms that would help frontline workers identify and understand the psychological reactions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and offered several approaches to manage stress and better cope with isolation and know when to seek help and what mental resources are available.

Babao emphasized the importance of self-care and illustrated various practical techniques that barangay health workers could use to de-stress and decrease coronavirus anxiety and improve emotional well-being.