MANILA, Philippines – When one thinks about the word ‘disability’, what immediately comes to mind is a person who can’t walk or see or someone who has a ‘defect’ on his/her body that is easy to see. But there are actually many types of disabilities – and many of these are disabilities that people could not see.
Frustrated with the lack of empathy for people with psychological disabilities such as herself, Pinay college student and musician Afrelle Rose Aquino, 21, wrote about this hidden disability to raise awareness about psychological disabilities.
She pointed out that not all disabilities are visible.
“You know what's the hardest thing I get to experience every day?” she wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook.
“People don’t believe when I tell them I am clinically diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder. They raise their eyebrows when I tell them I have anxiety and panic attack. They laugh when I tell them I am a member of the PWD community under the category of psychosocial disability leading to seizure disorder.”
She pointed out that people just can’t believe she is a PWD because she doesn’t look the part. How can she be a PWD when she looks healthy and cheerful? She has a lot of tattoos, body piercings, and is even part of a band.
Many often laugh when she tells them she has depression because they point out that she’s not even struggling in life and can actually buy most of the stuff she needs. How can she have bipolar disorder when she is a psychology student? Surely, such a person knows how to handle herself and her emotions, right?
She struggled to make people believe that she experiences anxiety and panic attacks trigger by crowds and public places, especially because she’s a musician. They perform in a band and prefer having a huge crowd to listen to their songs!
She angrily added:
“Hindi ko alam kung sinong nagtatak sa mga isip nyo na kapag PWD e bulag, pipi at bingi lang, na ang PWD ay wala ng pwedeng gawin, na pag depress ka ay dapat lugmok ka. Hindi ko din alam san galing yang ideya na ang may depresyon ay siraulo at baliw, na pag depressed di normal, hindi ko alam saan nyo napanood o nabasa na kapag may tattoo, may piercings ay malakas at matapang.
Hindi ko alam anong klaseng mindset ang meron kayo. Kayo yata itong bulag, bingi at pipi sa mga nangyayari sa paligid.
Paglilinaw lamang na ang pwd ay "person with disability" at hindi "person with no ability". Sa Tagalog ay taong may karamdaman, hindi taong walang kayang gawin.”
She feels so frustrated that people still have this mindset that PWDs are those people who lack certain body parts that make it difficult for them to move. She also expressed how hard it is for people to flippantly dismiss her situation, because they feel that depression is something that’s just in her mind or that her faith is shallow.
She explained:
“At bago ninyo sabihin na ang depresyon ay gawa gawa lang ng isipan, kawalan ng pananalig o pananampalataya at pagiging mahina? Ipinapanalangin ko na sana ay hindi nyo maranasan ang dinadanas namin at kung sakaling pagdaanan nyo wala sanang magsabi sa inyo na "nasa isip mo lang yan".
"Hindi naman sya mukhang depressed e". Walang pinipiling mukha ang depresyon, kahit sino pwedeng makaranas, andami daming naglipanang inspirational quotes tungkol sa depresyon, andaming artista, personalidad ang pumanaw dahil dito panay ang share nyo at pakikiramay di nyo pala naiintindihan, mga ipokrito at ipokrita. Rinding rindi na ako sa mga paulit ulit nyong tanong at panghuhusga, sa mga kilay nyong nagtataasan at mga bunganga nyong humahalakhak pag ganito ang usapan. Isa kayo sa mga dahilan kung bakit araw-araw may namamatay sa depresyon.
Respetuhin nyo ang nararamdaman ng bawat isa, itikom ang bibig kung walang magandang sasabihin. Tandaan na hindi dahil kinaya mo ay kakayanin ng iba. Educate yourselves kung di maintindihan ang isang bagay, libre lang ang google kung ayaw nyo magsearch manahimik na lang lalo na kung di hinihingi opinyon nyo, lahat tayo may pinagdadaanan kung di kayang tumulong wag na dumagdag.
Nakakapagod magpaliwanag pero nagpaliwanag pa din ako dahil di tayo maririnig kung walang magsasalita.”
She hopes that by sharing her frustrations, she can raise awareness over the situation that many PWDs face each day, particularly the ones like her who look so healthy on the outside but are so broken inside.
She ended the post with this explanation:
“Isa akong PWD sa ilalim ng kategoryang psychosocial disability. Takot ako sa crowds pero kaya kong kumanta sa stage, ilag ako sa mga tao pero kaya kong magtrabaho, ayaw ko ng phone calls, madalas ako magover think, kaya kong di matulog ng tatlong araw, mataba ako pero sakitin ako dahil sa pagbagsak ng immune system dala ng depression, coping mechanism ko ang tattoo at piercings.
May karamdaman lang pero madami pa ding kayang gawin.”
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
Frustrated with the lack of empathy for people with psychological disabilities such as herself, Pinay college student and musician Afrelle Rose Aquino, 21, wrote about this hidden disability to raise awareness about psychological disabilities.
She pointed out that not all disabilities are visible.
“You know what's the hardest thing I get to experience every day?” she wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook.
“People don’t believe when I tell them I am clinically diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder. They raise their eyebrows when I tell them I have anxiety and panic attack. They laugh when I tell them I am a member of the PWD community under the category of psychosocial disability leading to seizure disorder.”
She pointed out that people just can’t believe she is a PWD because she doesn’t look the part. How can she be a PWD when she looks healthy and cheerful? She has a lot of tattoos, body piercings, and is even part of a band.
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| Photo credit: Afrelle Rose Aquino |
Many often laugh when she tells them she has depression because they point out that she’s not even struggling in life and can actually buy most of the stuff she needs. How can she have bipolar disorder when she is a psychology student? Surely, such a person knows how to handle herself and her emotions, right?
She struggled to make people believe that she experiences anxiety and panic attacks trigger by crowds and public places, especially because she’s a musician. They perform in a band and prefer having a huge crowd to listen to their songs!
She angrily added:
“Hindi ko alam kung sinong nagtatak sa mga isip nyo na kapag PWD e bulag, pipi at bingi lang, na ang PWD ay wala ng pwedeng gawin, na pag depress ka ay dapat lugmok ka. Hindi ko din alam san galing yang ideya na ang may depresyon ay siraulo at baliw, na pag depressed di normal, hindi ko alam saan nyo napanood o nabasa na kapag may tattoo, may piercings ay malakas at matapang.
Hindi ko alam anong klaseng mindset ang meron kayo. Kayo yata itong bulag, bingi at pipi sa mga nangyayari sa paligid.
Paglilinaw lamang na ang pwd ay "person with disability" at hindi "person with no ability". Sa Tagalog ay taong may karamdaman, hindi taong walang kayang gawin.”
She feels so frustrated that people still have this mindset that PWDs are those people who lack certain body parts that make it difficult for them to move. She also expressed how hard it is for people to flippantly dismiss her situation, because they feel that depression is something that’s just in her mind or that her faith is shallow.
She explained:
“At bago ninyo sabihin na ang depresyon ay gawa gawa lang ng isipan, kawalan ng pananalig o pananampalataya at pagiging mahina? Ipinapanalangin ko na sana ay hindi nyo maranasan ang dinadanas namin at kung sakaling pagdaanan nyo wala sanang magsabi sa inyo na "nasa isip mo lang yan".
"Hindi naman sya mukhang depressed e". Walang pinipiling mukha ang depresyon, kahit sino pwedeng makaranas, andami daming naglipanang inspirational quotes tungkol sa depresyon, andaming artista, personalidad ang pumanaw dahil dito panay ang share nyo at pakikiramay di nyo pala naiintindihan, mga ipokrito at ipokrita. Rinding rindi na ako sa mga paulit ulit nyong tanong at panghuhusga, sa mga kilay nyong nagtataasan at mga bunganga nyong humahalakhak pag ganito ang usapan. Isa kayo sa mga dahilan kung bakit araw-araw may namamatay sa depresyon.
Respetuhin nyo ang nararamdaman ng bawat isa, itikom ang bibig kung walang magandang sasabihin. Tandaan na hindi dahil kinaya mo ay kakayanin ng iba. Educate yourselves kung di maintindihan ang isang bagay, libre lang ang google kung ayaw nyo magsearch manahimik na lang lalo na kung di hinihingi opinyon nyo, lahat tayo may pinagdadaanan kung di kayang tumulong wag na dumagdag.
Nakakapagod magpaliwanag pero nagpaliwanag pa din ako dahil di tayo maririnig kung walang magsasalita.”
TRIGGER WARNING: SENSITIVE CONTENT. You know what's the hardest thing I get to experience everyday? People doesn't...
Posted by Afrelle Rose Aquino on Thursday, February 18, 2021
She hopes that by sharing her frustrations, she can raise awareness over the situation that many PWDs face each day, particularly the ones like her who look so healthy on the outside but are so broken inside.
She ended the post with this explanation:
“Isa akong PWD sa ilalim ng kategoryang psychosocial disability. Takot ako sa crowds pero kaya kong kumanta sa stage, ilag ako sa mga tao pero kaya kong magtrabaho, ayaw ko ng phone calls, madalas ako magover think, kaya kong di matulog ng tatlong araw, mataba ako pero sakitin ako dahil sa pagbagsak ng immune system dala ng depression, coping mechanism ko ang tattoo at piercings.
May karamdaman lang pero madami pa ding kayang gawin.”
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
