Abstract
In a recent article published in this journal, the authors rightfully explored the mental health challenges among North American males alongside their coping strategies applied during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the significant findings revealed that the most commonly reported impacts on participants’ mental health are the feelings of “social isolation,” “seclusion,” and “loneliness” (Wilson et al., 2022). I firmly support this claim and want to highlight the role of “social stigma” as a major cause of these ill feelings using the context of Filipino male health care workers. I aim to provide interventions to address such unfortunate treatment.
Social stigma is the negative attitudes toward and disapproval of a person or group experiencing mental health illness rooted in the misperception that symptoms of mental illness are based on a person having a weak character. These perceptions can lead to discrimination, avoidance, and rejection of persons experiencing mental illness (Chatmon, 2020). This pandemic brought a lot of “stigmatizing” treatment to anybody, whether to the sick/patient or the ones taking care of them. Some Filipino nurses have reported that they have been harassed, evicted from homes, refused rides on buses, and kicked out of restaurants as their fellow citizens worry about coming into contact with them, thus tagging them as “virus spreaders” (Cordero, 2021). In another case, a 25-year-old hospital worker in Leyte suffered discrimination from his workmates after learning that he had flu-like symptoms but later on found out that it was just ordinary flu. Upon returning to work, his colleagues regarded him indifferently and advised him to go home and leave. Some even signed a petition to let him be suspended for several days. Finally, another hospital staff named Ritchie Estabillo, who was on his way to work, was confronted by five men who poured bleach over his face which could have blinded him. That same night of March 27, 2020, a nurse in Cebu City experienced being unexpectedly thrown with chlorine (Reuters, 2020).
Research has reported that stigma is one of the leading risk factors contributing to poor mental health outcomes because as mentioned, it can result in social rejection, avoidance, isolation, harassment, violence, bullying, increased feelings of shame, and self-doubt (Caddell, 2022). Instead of instilling stigma and fear around anybody who is inflicted with any kind of disease, the best thing to do is to show public support to address social disconnection. This can be done by providing humanitarian assistance especially given the fact that many Filipino health care workers are disappointed due to unjust compensation, unreceived benefits and hazard pay, delays in insurance reimbursements, poor working conditions, and many others (Robredo et al., 2022). This assistance can be in the form of both material and moral aspects. Both the government and private sectors must review and implement policies that are pro-workers to provide what they deserve. Morally, providing avenues to express what they are going through and listening to their experiences and sentiments can help a lot in developing effective coping mechanisms and maintaining human dignity.
