By official count, 700 million sufferers and more than seven million deaths were recorded in the global COVID-19 pandemic. Our generation was hit hard. No soul was spared in strict quarantines and lockdowns in any city or town. A socio-economic gloom descended everywhere in the world as we all struggled to endure and survive it.
Where would one hide, during the stage when vaccines were not available? It was a race for solutions. In the meantime, there was unbelievable fear, confusion, loss and grief, and panic on a massive scale.
When the World Health Organization declared the end of the pandemic in May 2023, three years have gone. We who were fortunate enough not to die still had to confront the harsh reality of covid-19. Its long-haul effects continue; new strains arise, long after the raging virus was contained.
One of the pandemic’s silent but tragic aftermath is the incidence of mental health issues it left in its wake. The grief from sudden loss and death, the mental stress of losing economic opportunities and jobs, and the anxiety of overturned lives are still with us.
Perhaps in time, the pain and suffering will heal, and we can learn to cope at last. Maybe the strain of grief will break, and we will find ways to accept that illness, stress, loneliness and anxiety will ease somehow. We can even try to push back fears and anxieties from our memory and deny that we have been stressed.
For many individuals who have been impacted in their personal lives, the solution would need structure and facility. We need the help of others to find a way to manage our emotional and mental health concerns. We need to create a good space where healing can begin, and our minds and feelings can be guided to wipe our inner fears and anxieties.
A creative program called Art4Healing is now available in Mega Manila to help assist children and adults who may be suffering from the emotional and mental impacts of illness, grief, fear or stress through individual workshops and community programs that offer expression, encouragement, clarity, and insight.
• The act of painting can function as a separate language and contribute to the emotional and mental healing process. The language of art creates the ability to communicate.
• The use of the creative process through painting can be healing and therapeutic.
• That artistic expression of emotions is good for our communities and our culture.
For more information on Art4Healing, please click on these links:
https://www.facebook.com/Art4HealingbyArtnook
