Hope against hope

Trigger warning: The following article may contain sensitive topics on suicide and mental health. Reader discretion is advised. If you know someone is in need of support or if you yourself need assistance, call 911 or 09190696361 for emergency cases. Suicide is a serious matter, urgent response is needed. Reach out to a professional.

According to the data presented by the City Health Services Office Mental Health Wellness and Substance Use unit, since January 2026, partial and unofficial results showed that two (2) males experienced death by suicide. The evolution of words no matter how harsh it may seem was first labeled as persons who committed suicide. Now, the same is not used anymore. Why? Committed suicide presupposes a crime that was punishable before under the law. Now, committed suicide is obsolete and the proper term is death by suicide.

To those saying that mental illness is for the weak, I hope you don’t go through the same ordeal to find that it is actually strength and courage to find hope. It is hard to stop crying for some. It is hard to wake up every morning and try to get up. It takes a lot of courage to have oneself to function well.

A person with lived experiences of a mental illness came about not because of weakness but because of too much strength they endured that they bottled up their negative emotions inside. They are not weak, it just happens that internal and external factors triggered various emotions. It may be because of a toxic environment growing up, a bad experience that left a life-long trauma or hormonal imbalance or even bad genes passed on.

Mental illness is like a faucet. It is opened by some outside or inside factor. Nevertheless, anyone can go through it including you. I used to be annoyed when people tell me that I am weak because I am a person with lived experiences of a mental condition. If only they knew how much strength I injured all throughout my life for the circumstances untold and unrequited. To suffer from a mental illness is not weak, these are combined factors of many things especially when you’re in denial of seeking out for help.

I do believe that the generation today is not weak. I came from an older generation when mental health was not talked about. A generation where shame and stigma was evident. I came from a time when people were already suffering from mental health but were afraid to be called crazy and put to the mental hospital or even see a psychiatrist. I came from a time where mental health support was not feasible or it is hard to find needed help.

I am a mental health advocate now. I am brave to continue because I don’t want people to experience the same or almost similar challenges I went through. That to call for help means nobody will listen. That no one would empathize. That you would feel alone and hopeless. That you can’t afford your own medicines. That you suffer in silence. I am emotional – yes, I am but it’s the only way to open your eyes so that you realize that people like me are not weaklings. That time and circumstances may not be kind. That the sickness is just like diabetes where you need maintenance and not merely being drug dependent. Taking your medicines is a form of self-care and not just “baby-ing” oneself.

I hope you don’t go through the same things I went through. I hope you don’t go through the things others had to endure just to keep sane. Everyone is different – every mental illness is different too even if it’s the same diagnosis. Every sufferer is different in terms of coping and healing. Every mind has its reasons or maybe, an unknown one.

I hope we find empathy in all that we do. The world is so full of negativity, let’s not add toxicity for that matter especially if you were given the chance to serve the people. Let’s understand, listen and work together.

The Mental Health Law has been improved and has been undergoing processes for further improvement in terms of legislation. It has been talked about and debated on, not by the weaklings but by the strongest warriors there are in the country.

I hope that even when they say you are weak, you still find courage. That you seek help – professional help. I hope that you believe in hope no matter who or even what you believe in. I hope you find in yourself to believe that there is hope and a surprise in the future waiting to happen. I hope that you share your own journeys to inspire others too. I hope against hope.