Most people believe that when one is physically healthy, no sickness, and no hurt, that’s enough to live well in this world. But the truth is, you can still fail to survive even if you’re in good physical condition or even if no person puts you to death. The real antagonist—the one truly in control—is your mind.

Our mind is much more powerful than we think. It seems to be the one manipulating the strings of our bodies—commanding our hands what to hold, absorbing what our ears have been told, and lifting our feet to decide where to go. Yet there are still people who see it as something shallow.

Mental health is vital in order to survive. However, in the Philippines, it is harder to endure because it is undervalued. In fact, there is less than one mental health professional for every 100,000 Filipinos, and most of them are concentrated in major cities. As a result, proper support remains out of reach for many who need it most. There are still individuals who discriminate against those experiencing mental health challenges, despite the existence of advocates and psychologists.

Teenagers are now more open about expressing their struggles online, and the reason is that they are understood better in the digital world. It is upsetting how strangers in virtual spaces bring them comfort, instead of those around them in real life.

Other people don’t realize that the mental state is just as important as the physical health. It is infuriating how they fail to understand that our thoughts influence our bodies. There are literal marks on young people’s wrists because their thoughts carve lies into their minds.

Hopefully, we can all learn to value our mental and physical health equally. It is good to be healed, because healed people heal others. Caring for our minds is not a weakness; it is a form of strength.

The Frontman