In light of the rising incidents of suicides and school shootings nationwide, MGC New Life Christian Academy held its first mental health seminar for all high school students last September 29 at the auditorium and multipurpose hall.
Entitled “When Emotions Run High: Recognize. Regulate. Reach Out,” the seminar was organized by the Student Government (SG) and the Guidance and Testing Center in collaboration with In Touch Community Services, a volunteer-driven organization that provides mental health services in the Philippines. The seminar aimed to help students regulate their emotions amid these stressful times.
“It's become more important to organize talks like these and have discussions about mental health with everything that's been happening recently,” explained SG Junior Adviser Carissa Maegan Chiong, “We need to place importance on our mental health, especially in how we handle our emotions and treat the people around us.”
Different speakers spoke for each grade level, with registered psychologists Margarita Lia Infante and Paula Beatriz Rodriguez speaking for Grades 7 and 8; Lia Amor Nuyda and Cheryl Lynn Wong for Grades 9 and 10; and Katrina Frances Ching and Gianna Paige Yu for Grades 11 and 12.
The speakers explained methods to understand and identify intense feelings, as well as some common symptoms that may occur when experiencing stressful situations. They also taught students to use the Regulate, Think, Act, and Connect framework, along with coping strategies such as vagal breathing, grounding, and stretching to manage such intense feelings.