Tarlac City, Tarlac – DILG Tarlac Provincial Office sought court psychological assistance from Ms. Guila Celine Mananquil to help assess their mental health status and provide inputs to help ease stress and anxiety amid the COVID-19 pandemic on September 1, 2020 via teleconferencing and through TarlaKAYAN in DILG Tarlac's Facebook Page.

 During the conference with the field officers, DILG Tarlac Provincial Director Belina Herman stressed the importance of keeping our minds and body equally healthy because we are gearing for a longer battle against the virus unless a vaccine is made available.

Cluster Leader Renalyn Iglesias also thanked the initiative of Cluster Leader Fortunato Abraham III in inviting a psychologist to help DILG Officers cope with the overwhelming anxiety and stress everyone might be experiencing.

During the 8th TarlaKAYAN episode, Ms. Manaquil said being stressed during these times is as common as the "New Normal" everyone is trying to adapt to is overwhelming. Being frightened and uncertain of the recent events affecting the globe is also normal but there are some ways to help people go through the situation.

She added that while most people say they are OK, there may be times when they conceal their true feelings for what is happening around them and monitoring of the physical and mental well-being of ourselves and our loved ones is key to understanding how to cope up with our feelings.

Signs such as low energy and activity levels, irritability, outbursts of anger, sleeping problems, excessive worrying, difficulty in communicating, difficulty to feel pleasure, and difficulty to give or accept help may show during these times.

Physically, signs such as digestive problems, headaches and pains, loss of appetite or overeating, sweating or having chills, muscle twitching or tremors, and being easily startled can also be seen among people who experience the signs mentioned earlier.

Ms. Mananquil mentioned some tips on how to ease our mental and physical pains. These are: limiting the time we spend in reading and watching the news which greatly affect how we feel; finding people and resources who could give us accurate and verified health information; keeping ourselves healthy; using practical things to relax; paying attention to our mind, body, and spirit.
Initiating conversations about how we feel with our loved ones is also considered a powerful coping tool. Job stress can also be lessened by identifying the things that cause stress and anxiety in the workplace, open communication with co-workers, understanding the things which we can and cannot control, reminding ourselves that we are in an unusual situation and that everyone is practically feeling the same way, increasing our sense of control by setting routines that are similar to the things we do before the pandemic.

Ultimately, the best way to survive the global health crisis is to adapt and help others adapt with the situation especially in the month of September when we promote awareness on suicide prevention.