Edgar Allan Guzman, Benjamin Alves discuss overcoming quarantine anxiety
Everyone has had their share of anxiety during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially health-related and financial worries.
So in Mars Pa More's "Mars Sharing Group." hosts Iya and Camille discussed coping with anxiety with Kapuso stars Benjamin Alves and Edgar Allan Guzman and clinical psychologist Richthofen de Jesus.
According to Benjamin, he was just chill during the start of the quarantine period, making the most out of it by catching up on K-dramas, but as the months progressed, that's when he started feeling anxious.
“Ngayon lang ako nagkakaroon ng anxiety na gusto ko na lumabas kasi andaming pwedeng panoorin, andaming pwedeng gawin, but now parang nauubos na siya.
“So ayon, yung mga nararamdaman ng ibang tao dati, nararamdaman ko na siya ngayon.”
As for Edgar Allan Guzman, he suffered from paranoia during the early days of the quarantine period but was fortunately able to overcome it eventually.
“Ako noong first month nung ECQ, medyo kinakabahan ako for me and for my family siyempre. Nakakapraning.
"To be honest, every time na matutulog ako medyo, alam mo 'yon, minsan bago ako matulog, minsan naiisip ko parang nararamdaman kong kailangan kong pigilan 'tong ubo na 'to baka may something na.
“So, ang ginawa ko, sabi ko, 'Hindi. Malakas yung faith ko kay Lord.'
"Nagdasal ako and then at the same time inaliw ko yung sarili ko via TikTok. (Laughs)
“And then, nagkipag-bonding ako with the family. Nagluluto ako kasama ko yung mom ko. “
Warning signs for anxieties
Mars Iya also asked clinical psychologist Richthofen de Jesus what the warning signs are for anxieties that already need to be addressed.
He summed it up with the acronym BASCR, which stands for behavior, affect (or emotional expression), somatization, cognition, and relationships.
Behavioral and emotional changes such as panicking, constant fear, and depression are the common manifestations of stress in an individual.
If you often find yourself hurrying to complete tasks or are always downhearted or uninspired, then you should certainly address your anxiety.
Moreover, another way stress can show in an individual is through somatization, where someone feels symptoms in his or her body, but there's physically nothing wrong at all.
It's as if the symptom you are feeling is all in your mind, or you've been constantly thinking about it that's why you feel like it's happening to you.
In addition to aforementioned signs, stress or anxiety can also affect a person's cognition.
This can manifest in someone when he or she suddenly becomes forgetful and has difficulty focusing on certain tasks or is having problems multitasking.
Mr. de Jesus further explained, “O, 'di naman kaya, ang nangyayari sa'yo is that you feel na everything is a significant difficulty para gawin sa'yo, kahit naman dati simpleng-simple lang.”
Finally, the last sign that you should tackle your anxiety is when it already affects your personal relationships.
Stress can make a person very moody.
That's why some people lose their cool easily over the simplest things, or even when they're not being triggered at all.
“Kasi siyempre, lalo na tayo bilang tao, very common sa'tin yung i-displace natin sa ibang tao rin yung nararamdaman nating stress.”
According to Mr. de Jesus, if all five of these areas in your life are affected, that means you really need to take action on your anxiety.
Find out what his tips are on how to cope with anxiety during the pandemic in the video above.
To watch more meaningful and helpful discussions like this, tune in to Mars Pa More from Monday to Friday, at 8:45 a.m. on GMA-7.
For more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.
For updates on the Coronavirus Disease pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine, visit GMA's COVID-19 page and ECQ page.
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