MANILA, Philippines – On Thursday, April 30, ABS-CBN News posted a mnemonic on how to take care of one’s mental health during the coronavirus lockdown, with one catch—its mnemonic spelled out the word "selfish."
The mnemonic in the graphic lists tips on how to take care of one's mental health, which include getting enough sleep and exercise, and following a nutritious diet. The tips were based on an ANC interview with neuroscience coach Ben Ampil from April 23.
"It's not 'selfish' in the sense that we don't care about people, it's selfish in the sense that we care about ourselves," Ampil stated.
Many mental health experts are also bracing for a nationwide mental health epidemic as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. (READ: Keep calm and cope: How to stay mentally healthy during coronavirus crisis)
Netizens were quick to slam the post for being insensitive and for "sending the wrong message."
Please delete this post. It is distasteful and insensitive to anyone experiencing mental health problems to be told "Remember, SELFISH" when they oftentimes feel like a burden to those around them. Good intention, terrible execution. Delete, Apologize, and Try Again — RT | simpin for fotia (@rune_ined) April 30, 2020
This kind of sends the wrong message po. Sa dami ba naman ng salitang pwedeng mabuo, bakit SELFISH pa. Pwede namang self-love o kaya self-care, dagdagan lang ng activities. It's really not that hard. — ShamyShamcySchéma (@gershamymar) April 30, 2020
Hi @ABSCBNNews there are literally millions of words that can be used as a mnemonic for self care pero y'all chose "Selfish"?? I really hope na your intentions are good with this post pero having a negative connotation connected to "mental health" is doing more harm than good — (@WhatsACarlo) April 30, 2020
imagine the implications of telling people to take care of their mental health, only to read this and focus more on the world "selfish" which is the very stigma that people have against those who battle mental health concerns https://t.co/1nCm1PouFu — Doni Manipor (@downeemanipor) April 30, 2020
ABS-CBN has since deleted the tweet of the graphic. As of writing, the same graphic is still up on ABS-CBN’s Facebook page.
Here’s what Filipinos online had to say:
Mental health 'selfish'? - Curated tweets by rapplerdotcom
If you want to seek professional help, you may refer to this list of groups offering free online counseling during the pandemic. – Rappler.com
