Congresswoman Rida Robes Advocates Mental Health- Named Ambassador Against Cyber-bullying

Depression and mental health is a rising global concern to humanity and many of us have faced or know people who are going through it. This what Lone district of San Jose Del Monte congresswoman Rida Robes wants to address to congress and to the public. She admits that she went through depression and cyber-bullying because of her looks before.

She also shared that there was reports of suicides from a public school in the city, all teenagers and died within a year. This was alarming for her and knew that there is a need to provide help to those who are experiencing depression and cyber-bullying. In one of her recent privilege speech titled “Changing Faces,” she discussed the “changed faces” of the Filipino youth citing that suicidal teenagers usually ranges from 13 to 25 years old.

Deadly Lifestyles: How Your Personal Choices Impact Your Health

According to a study by the Philippine Statistics Authority, lifestyle diseases such as coronary artery and heart disease and cancerous tumors came out as the leading causes of death among Filipinos.

As defined by Dr. Lourdes Remedios Bituin, Wellness Doctor In-charge at The Medical City Clark, lifestyle diseases are illnesses brought about by a person’s daily behavior and routine. They are also heavily influenced by a person’s environment, most commonly their occupational environment. Aside from heart disease and cancer, other lifestyle diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, type II diabetes, and stroke.

Understanding Depression: What We Need To Know

It should be a wake up call for all of us that depression is just not a fad or a choice one would engage if they wanted to. Depression is far more complicated than we expected. And it already took many lives and it is not exclusive to a specific age group, race, gender, or social status.

Since Robin Williams' took his own life in 2014, other big stars like singers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington also ended their lives in similar fashion.

In the Philippines, depression was on the news because of now controversial remarks by comedian, TV host, and actor Joey De Leon.