22:43 - 24:53:

The pandemic has been hard on me as a mental health advocate and as a restaurant owner. Since closing down Forest House in Baguio, we’ve transitioned into a food delivery service and we want to provide employment for some of our former staff, with the intention of absorbing more of our old staff as we expand our new operations. All of the recipes for our new business were recipes experimented and refined by my wife, and we’re hoping to teach these recipes to our former staff so that they can cook these themselves. We also had a bakery before, so that’s another service we want to add while also absorbing our former bakers. As an entrepreneur, this expansion of the business, on top of employing former staff, are the breakthroughs I’m looking for right now. In terms of my mental health advocacy, I want to reach more people and communicate the important messages to them.

There has been an increase of people suffering from mental health disorders during this pandemic, and suicide rates are increasing too. This is a concern to me, so I’ve been busy lately giving mental health talks. It took awhile for me to adjust to doing my talks online instead of in person - it can be strange to do talks online because I’m not sure if the audience gets me. My next level breakthrough in terms of my mental health advocacy is to fully transition my mental health talks into an online format so that I can reach more people and communicate my mental health message to them. Since most of the invites are in Luzon right now, I am hoping I can reach out to those in Visayas and Mindanao.

29:07

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder over 12 years ago but I’d like to emphasize that I was diagnosed, and not that I am diagnosed. I believe that I am much more than my disorder. So for 12 years, I've been under medication everyday just to keep me sane. Other than that, I see my psychiatrist twice a year, which is significantly less than before wherein I would visit my psychiatrist every week. My story highlights that not only am I an advocate, but I am one of the people struggling with a mental health disorder. I think that’s very important because when I talk to my tribe - a group of people with mental health conditions - I know what they’re going through since I myself have also been through those deepest, darkest nights. There’s a certain pain we go through wherein the emptiness is really heavy. We can’t bear the pain and for some, suicide can become the forgone conclusion to escape the pain. It’s like being tortured and everyone has a breaking point. I feel for these people and I don’t want anyone else to feel the pain of depression, I wouldn't even wish it on my worst enemies.

35:00

I'm really compassionate towards people with mental health conditions because I know what these people go through. There are times when I travel really far just so that I can talk to an audience of 3000 people. My mindset is, if I could save one person from suicide, then the trip would be worth it. Therefore, the purpose of my mental health advocacy is to save a life. That’s why I'm so driven and passionate about this advocacy, because I know I can save a life. My psychiatrist tells me sometimes that I have to slow down and stop the talks because there’s a risk of burning out. But in my mind, these talks might save even just one person’s life, so that's why I continue to do what I do despite the risk of burnout.

46:00

Some people say that there’s a reason for everything. I suffered a lot from mental health. I had fights with God - I kept asking why me? Don’t I pray enough? In spite of all my efforts, I still had to suffer. But I realized that in order to become a true advocate, I had to understand what it meant to struggle with a mental health disorder. I realized that this was my gift - I had the awareness of mental health disorders and I could immerse myself in what people go through. I could relate to them and I could use this gift to spread and raise awareness about mental health. This gift enabled me to empathize and to feel what people feel in our community. Through this gift, I am able to explain who we are to people who don’t have disorders, to prove that we are not useless and that we can function normally. Furthermore, to the people of my tribe, I can give them a sense of hope, that having a mental disorder is only a hurdle towards your dreams and aspirations, but not the end of the world.

55:13

When someone has a heart attack, his heart fails. When the person eventually dies, you don’t blame the person. When a person dies because of suicide we have a tendency to blame the person. But I want people to understand that something inside failed, specifically his or her brain. So during that time of suicide, he or she was not him or herself. People who go through mental health disorders don’t have proper sanity and mental coherence, and this is what I hope people can understand. Let’s not blame the people because something inside them is not functioning - it isn’t their fault.

1:01:00

Looking back there has to be more to life than my businesses. The businesses are practically gone, the pandemic has seen to that. But what has remained is my advocacy for mental health and it will always be there for me. One of the most important things to know when having a mental health disorder is that it's so important to listen. Sometimes, that's all what people need. I will always be a mental health advocate over being an entrepreneur, I want to talk about it and I want to do my part to try and save peoples’ lives.

1:05:57

Hindi tayo nilikha ng diyos para sa sarili lang natin. We have to be aware that we were put in this world for a purpose. We are all important. Don’t believe that your life is meaningless. Believe me when I say that you have a purpose. Find out what it is that you're passionate about, because it's through your passion that you find your purpose. We weren’t made only for ourselves - your purpose leads you towards a life of service for others. Don't give up and don't settle, let's leave this world by leaving a mark on it.