The Department of Health (DOH) has reminded people mourning the death of their loved ones to allow themselves to express grief as it is a normal reaction, while also ensuring that they take self-care.
DOH on Saturday, in commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, released a video on its social media accounts telling the public that processing grief differs from one person to another.
Processing grief, said National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) psychiatrist Dr. Sharlene Mae Ocampo, is completely normal, along with taking care of oneself even while grieving.
‘So it is normal to be sad. It differs in terms of how long the state of sadness will be because grieving, as we know it, normally lasts six months to a year. But there are different ways to process the loss of our beloved people. We show different ways to grieve,’ Ocampo said.
‘So for those who are grieving, whether it’s normal grief or moving towards a prolonged grief disorder, the important thing is first we need to take care of ourselves, for that individual who is grieving. First is you have to practice self-care. What are the easy self-care steps to do? So first is to eat properly, let us not forget about our nutrition,’ she added.
Ocampo also said that people grieving should have enough sleep, and allow checked emotions to be released through physical activities.
‘Second is enough sleep, which is around six to eight hours of sleep daily. And third is whether we can inject physical activity or exercise. Attend to your emotions, so if you feel like crying, if you feel like being angry, about to have an outburst, just cry, release your anger, the release of these emotions will also help you in the healing process,’ she said.
‘Another is to reach out to others, especially those people that you feel comfortable telling your stories to,’ she added.
DOH said that people needing someone to talk to can contact the NCMH Crisis Hotline 1553.
Aside from mental health reminders, the DOH has been busy for Undas, with Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa inspecting various medical outposts on expressways, cemeteries, and areas of convergence. On Friday, Herbosa said DOH is on a Code White alert status to prepare for possible health-related incidents.
Herbosa, in another video uploaded by DOH, said that the department is not on a holiday, as public health officers have been deployed to expressways, cemeteries, and other places of convergence as many Filipinos travel to their provincial homes.
The DOH chief reminded the public, especially those with maintenance medicines, to always bring their pills with them. Herbosa also called on motorists to be more patient on the road as heavy traffic flow is almost certain along the country’s major thoroughfares.
According to Herbosa, they also advise people with influenza-like symptoms to stay at home, and those who cannot really stay indoors to practice proper cough etiquette and frequent hand-washing.