Samantha Panlilio shares mental health struggles after competing in Miss Grand International
Samantha Panlilio is opening up about the challenges to her mental health that she encountered ever since she finished competing for the Miss Grand International pageant last year.
In a post on her Instagram account, the current Miss Grand International Philippines uploaded a three-minute video of the inspirational talk she delivered for the Trinity University of Asia on the topic of mental health in relation to the digital world.
In the video, Samantha revealed that she felt so lost after competing in Thailand because of “the way some things turned out.” Adding to her problems were people online “pointing out each and every flaw” that she had. Even worse, her sister-in-law passed away due to cancer after she returned from Thailand.
All of these events combined made her fall into depression and feeling overwhelmed. Thankfully, Samantha revealed that she was able to overcome all of this simply by not being afraid to ask for help from her friends and family. She also took a break from social media, which she described as one of the healthiest decisions she's made.
“During this time, I learned happiness is always a choice. People may say things about you but it's up to us on how we react to these uncertainties. How do we react to these uncontrollable situations? That really is what makes us a stronger and better person at the end of the day,” she explained.
Samantha isn't the only queen that went on a social media break after coming back from competing in international pageants. Miss World Philippines Tracy Maureen Perez also went on hiatus from her Instagram account, in order to “appreciate the gift of serenity” and to “recharge and to fight the silent battles with faith and hope for the future.”
Since overcoming her battle with depression, Samantha has refocused her energies on helping out the victims of Typhoon Odette in Siargao and Cebu. The beauty queen organized a closet cleanup for the benefit of the victims and called on other interested people to contact her to make it easier to consolidate the donations.
Samantha's efforts join that of other beauty queens who have been contributing to the relief and recovery efforts of other organizations. Miss Universe Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez has conducted relief operations in Compostela, Cebu and in Mantuyog, Mandaue.
The Miss Universe Philippines Organization has also pledged to match any donations made through the remittance app, Sendwave.
Meanwhile, check out Samantha Panlili's fiercest photos below.