DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) – Mayor Sara Duterte has admitted that her “mental health is not okay” amid the enormous problems this city has encountered in dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In her program over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Monday, Duterte said that she refused to seek professional help despite being advised to undergo a stress debriefing.
“I’ve been advised several times to undergo stress debriefing. But I’m not that person who can express one’s feelings to anyone, so I don’t think I can talk to a counsellor. We may just end up staring at each other, or what may happen is that I may end up giving the counsellor stress debriefing. It happens to me all the time,” she said.
Duterte said she is not comfortable talking to anyone about her feelings although her colleagues in the government would often call her to vent their worries, particularly during the pandemic.
Although she could not bring herself to open up to a counselor, the mayor recalled advising those people to seek the help of an expert.
“Even though I don’t know how to give stress debriefing, there were a few instances, particularly at the start of the pandemic. Sometimes I didn’t know what to answer but I tried because some people just needed someone to talk to and I happened to be that person whom they wanted to open up to,” she said.
Duterte said the local government offers “Free Telecounselling Psychosocial Services” for those who need the help of a counsellor.
As of April 19, she said the “telecounselling” services reported 77 referred clients since December 26, 2020. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
