The Campus Counseling & Career Services Office and the Carig Campus Student Council organized a Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Month Symposium today, which involved all first- and second-year students in an enlightening conversation that taught them about mental health and the main factors that influence it. It was a great opportunity for the students to have a chance to gain a true understanding of what mental health is.
The symposium was opened by our extremely supportive Campus Executive Officer, Engr. Roger P. Rumpon highlighting the value of maintaining mental equilibrium, particularly when it comes to our academics. Additionally, he also urged the faculty to be compassionate towards the students and lessen the academic work assigned to them, taking into account the various situations that the students maybe facing and understand their perspectives.
Following that, our first resource speaker, Dr. Febe Marl G. Paat, RGC, RPSY, RPM, LPT, led the symposium through an engaging dance and conversation on the importance of mental health and how to spot the early warning signs of mental health disorders. Dr. Paat also accentuated that it is very necessary to talk about our mental heath and being able to contextualize it with our daily lives. She was seconded by our second resource speaker, Mr. Renz Marion C. Gavino, RPM, RPSY, who discussed suicide prevention, recognizing that we are not alone, and how we can always seek out for support and remember that our lives are worth living. He also acknowledges that our pain is real, but so does hope, emphasizing the need of communication and upliftment to reduce suicide cases.
The symposium underlined that as tertiary students, it is essential to talk about our mental well being and that it is part of our physical health. Having a balanced stream of thinking allows us to be more productive and fruitful.
Let us continue to enable individuals and communities to speak up, making them feel safe, supported, and heard.