PH Embassy in the Hague Offers Mental Health, Wellness, and Awareness Workshops

Ambassador to the Netherlands Jaime Victor B. Ledda and ElrinaTissink talk about mental health issues, such as “seasonal depression, i.e., winter depression and its signs that include over-eating which elicited laughter from the participants. (The Hague PE photo)

THE HAGUE 20 November 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in The Hague and its Gender and Development (GAD) section organized a workshop-information session on mental health, wellness, and awareness on 19 October 2019. The event was attended by more than 50 participants, most of whom are young Filipino women who are living in the Netherlands and staying with local foster families under the “Au Pair” cultural immersion program.

The Embassy invited social psychiatric nurse Elrina Tissink for a  talk on mental health care and dealing with stress.  In her presentation, Tissink highlighted the common issues of mental health that affect everyone. She said that one’s attitudes or expectations may result from one’s interactions in society and finding oneself in a different culture and  away from one’s own family, among others.

She added that everyone can experience feelings of sadness or feelings that one is unable to cope with once in a while, or in other words, feeling “blue.” Ms. Tissink noted that these feelings may include generalized fear, anxiety, complaints, stress, and depression that could be regular and seasonal.

Ms. Tissink identified the signs of these mental health issues and offered ways and means to combat these concerns from relaxation exercises, intake of Vitamin D, walking out to get the sun, use of light therapy, and even mental health services on call ‘round the clock through the 113 hotline.

The presentation was preceded by welcome remarks by Ambassador to the Netherlands Jaime Victor B. Ledda, who emphasized the importance of mental healthcare, being  able to  identify  its common issues that can affect anyone at home or at work, and knowing how to  best address these concerns.

Ambassador Ledda also said that the event is timely on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2019. END

Tissink guides Filipino au pairs during a belly breathing exercise, which is a stress management mechanism for relaxation and a grounding exercise to help the body and mind bring awareness back into balance and clear away a cluttered mind. The exercise also empowers them with ways and means to cope with life’s normal stresses and  know their potentials to achieve their life’s goals.  (The Hague PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph  or  https://www.facebook.com/PHinTheNetherlands/.