Have you ever cared for OFW mental health? Do you think that Filipinos have been influential to most races of the world? Filipinos can always get along with other nationalities. They took advantage of this, applying to overseas jobs that provide better labor rights and wages. With this, they are able to help their family and relatives improve their living in the Philippines. However, they had to leave the country behind to go to their greener pastures. In turn, they suffer from homesickness. There is an estimate of 10 million Filipinos abroad working yet they still have a sense of familyhood.
OFW Mental Health is often not talked about. Filipinos working overseas are human, too. They may be away from home, but they are also vulnerable to mental health concerns. Because OFWs are living far away from home, they don’t have a family that will support them when it comes to working in foreign lands. There may be technology that let them keep in touch with their family but feelings of homesickness and isolation from familial love still linger. This is why there are different agencies that offer online counselling and therapy services to OFWs. In this blog, we will be talking about the life of OFWs, their mental health, and why they should get online counselling.
The Life of Overseas Filipino Workers: OFW Mental Health Tips
According to PSA in 2020, Saudi Arabia has the most OFWs in the whole world with over 1.77 million. More Filipino workers working overseas are usually found in Asia compared to the western parts of the world. OFWs in Asia are usually factory workers, teachers, nurses, doctors, and other laborers. Their professions are in demand and essential to their host country.
With this, they are required to render their duties to deliver quality results to the company they are servicing in return for high compensation and a better way of living. OFWs generally help in spreading Filipino talent abroad and contribute widely to worldly affairs. There are many monetary rewards that OFWs and their families enjoy but they have sacrificed time, distance, and relationships for the sake of being the bread and butter.
Far from the glittery social media posts of OFWs enjoying foreign celebrations and hopping from one country to another, some of them suffer from homesickness, depression, anxiety, relational problems, and self-esteem issues. They are prone to feeling lonely because they are physically distant from their loved ones who can keep them company and encourage them when needed.
The Turning Point for OFWs
That’s why we see a dire need to establish mental health awareness to our Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs especially in improving their workplace-related mental health. We know that OFWs invest more of their time in working than leisure because they need to provide for their families and relatives in some instances.
‘All work and no time to manage mental health’ doesn’t have to be the life of OFWs. It is very tiring to work all day and have no one to physically support you. Oftentimes, the mental health of OFWs is affected at work due to inconsiderate bosses, constant overtime, cut of wages, discrimination, and racism among colleagues. They are most likely to go home drained and empty.
Knowing how to manage their mental health before, at, and after work will help them have stable mental health and well-being. OWWA should keep in touch with their deployed Overseas Filipino Workers and encourage the companies that each OFWs is hired to have mental health programs in their workplace.
Mental Health Tips For OFWs
If government agencies catering to OFWs can’t back them up, the OFW has the right to avail for mental health services such as online counselling and therapy as per the Mental Health Act of the Philippines that includes the OFWs’ mental health.
Below are the following OFW Mental Health Tips and why you should do them:
Improve your performance through words of affirmation
When you have optimum mental health as well as physical health, you are more likely to perform better. It’s important to pair mental health wellness with your physical health so that an individual can perform well. This means utilizing a healthy mind and body.
Acknowledge your feelings
When you feel tired, sad, angry, and unmotivated, psychologists and other mental health professionals would encourage you to feel your emotions and acknowledge that they are there. Most people would repress these emotions, a form of toxic positivity, that would manifest in ugly ways if left bottled up. This is called self-awareness
Build some anti-stress habits
Getting into a working plan to deal with your emotions effectively can help minimize stress. It can also maximize productivity. In life, there are many stressors that may push us to the edge but when you take good care of your mental health through careful handling of emotions, you can cope with high levels of stress even while working abroad.
Communicate better
Have you ever had an emotional outburst like getting angry at people for little or no reason at all? Yes, that is a sign of poor mental health. Talk to your co-workers calmly and even to your bosses, too even when you’re on edge. A for the family at home, remember to be gentle with them.
Create healthy habits
Get rid of bad habits such as overthinking, gaslighting, excessive alcohol and substance abuse. One of the OFW mental health tips to share is to create healthy habits. Instead, you’re going to build up healthy personal development habits such as telling yourself self-affirmations, doing meditations, or even journaling your emotions! You can also go to tourist destinations in your place and even to the gym release those endorphins.
You set healthy boundaries
It’s not everyday that we have the energy to have some social time. It’s important to have a “me” time, too (and yes even taking time away from family and bosses). Mental health is about yourself and the people around you. The first thing you have to prioritize is yourself. Take that vacation leave, go to a park, and enjoy what you love. You should connect to yourself, too.
You love yourself
The best image you can have is your self-image. When you take care of your mental health, you value yourself. You’re not just an employee, you’re also human with emotional needs. With the acknowledgement of emotional needs like love, forgiveness, patience, and encouragement, you will realize that you deserve these things.