08/09/2026
๐๐โ๐ ๐ข๐ธ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป
๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐๐ง, ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐
Grief has a strange way of arriving late to some losses. When someone dies by su***de, the people left behind often don't just mournโthey replay. They search old messages for a sign they missed. This September, as we mark World Su***de Prevention Month, one truth needs to be stated clearly:
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
"๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ด๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ง๐ต๐บ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ: ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต." These were the words of Judy Collinsโa folk singer and mental health advocate who lost her own son to su***de.
The refusal to talk about it, or even look at it directly, obscures an important truth: su***de is rarely a single moment of weakness. It is usually the end of a long, quiet exhaustion carried privately for longer than anyone around them realized.
In the Philippines, that weight is often carried in silence by design. A 2023 study by Bollettino and colleagues found that, beyond financial barriers, the top reasons Filipinos avoid seeking mental health support include ๐ฉ๐ช๐บ๐ข (shame), the fear of being labeled ๐๐ or ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ธ, and anxiety over how family members might react. That silence isn't just cultural; it's structural too. For a population of more than 100 million, the Philippines has only around 548 psychiatrists, 516 psychiatric nurses, and 133 psychologists nationwide, according to 2021 UNDP data.
๐๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต.
And yet, that cultural silenceโthe one built from shame and fearโhas never been completely impenetrable. The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) Crisis Hotline has taken tens of thousands of calls in recent years, and roughly a third of them are su***de-related. Those calls represent thousands of individuals who decided the weight was too much to hold alone, and reached for help anyway.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐
You don't need the right words for what you're feeling before it counts as real. Notice if things that used to matter have quietly stopped mattering, or if not being here anymore has started to feel less frightening and more like a relief. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ. It's a sign the weight has become too heavy for one person to handleโand that's exactly the moment to set it down with someone who can help hold it.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐
"๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ต๐ด," says Dr. Sonja Batten, a licensed clinical psychologist and Chief Clinical Officer at Stop Soldier Su***de, in an interview marking Su***de Prevention Month. She advocates for what she calls "asking the awkward question" directly, because research shows that discussing su***de openly does not plant the idea. It actually shows care.
It requires asking the one question that feels the most unnatural: "๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ?" Then listenโwithout jumping to conclusions, without rushing to reassure, and without trying to fix it before they even finish talking.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐๐
If you are here because someone you loved already set their weight down in a way that you never got the chance to help carry, this month is for you too. That grief deserves to be acknowledged and supported just as much as prevention does. You are allowed to grieve them without needing to understand everything that led there.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ
Right here on campus, MSU-IIT's Office of Guidance and Counseling (OGC) has a counselor assigned to every college, reachable through their official pages:
๐๐๐๐, ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ, & ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐: Caring Hands
๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ: Cassangga
๐๐๐ฆ & ๐๐๐ฆ: Mindful Audial
๐๐ข๐ (๐๐ฆ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด): Well Heard
๐๐ข๐ (๐๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ): Kaalalay
๐๐๐ / ๐๐๐ฆ: Pawsitive Space
Beyond campus, the National Center for Mental Health runs a free, 24/7 crisis hotline:
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ: 1553 (nationwide toll-free) or 1800-1888-1553
๐ฆ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ / ๐ง๐ก๐ง: 0919-057-1553
๐๐น๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ / ๐ง๐ : 0917-899-8727 or 0966-351-4518
๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ (Natasha Goulbourn Foundation):
๐๐น๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ / ๐ง๐ : 2919
๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ: 0917-558-4673 or 0918-873-4673
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ: (02) 8804-4673
You donโt have to dial them alone, and you donโt have to figure it all out today. You just have to reach out.
No more carrying it quietly. No more believing the silence is keeping you safe. The weight has been heavy enough, for long enough. It is time to set it down.
Written by Kurt Angelo Retuta
Proofread by Althea Grace Amsali, Shirley Mae Derong and Kevin Villareal
Layout by Manuel John Mabalod
