Ebe Dancel shares how the COVID-19 lockdown affected his mental health as well as his livelihood

In the second episode of Quarantined with Howie Severino, Ebe Dancel admitted to the lockdown affecting his mental health.

"It hit me hard last week. Na-overwhelm ako," the singer began. "Meron akong sense na paggising ko, parang nalulunod na ko. Hindi ko alam kung saan ako pupunta, anong gagawin ko."

To cope, Ebe set little goals for himself. "I take it an hour at a time. Dahan-dahan tapas before you know it, puna na ang raw mo, and that's very important in these times of isolation."

The singer, who has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and has made mental health awareness his advocacy.

In the episode, the singer also talked about the moment in 2018 when he decided to take a break from music.

He made a stunning comeback with his solo concert just last February, but two weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause in his and many a musician's main source of livelihood: live music.

"A big part of music sa Pilipinas is live performance, that's how we really earn," Ebe said. So to deal with the lockdown, the first thing Ebe had to do was to accept. "I had a long conversation with my manager, I've accepted where I am and as much as I want to do shows, I cannot and I should not. Safety is of utmost important. Kailangan i-prioritize."

According to Ebe, it was also important to allow himself to "feel grief kasi malaki ang nawala sa mundo mo."

Looking ahead, the singer admits to still feeling shocked. "Sa live shows ang income kaya ngayon, I'm honestly in a state of shock. There are days when I worry, saan ako kukuha ng income? I'm sure a lot of musicians feel that way," he admitted.

And despite the many online gigs that transpired in the last two months, still not seeing online shows as a viable way to make a living. 

"Hindi ko siya makita. I think it's a short term solution because a big part of performance is, its a two-way street," he admitted. 

"It's weird performing in front of my camera," he continued, admitting the process is exhausting. "Ok ba yung tunog ko? Nakikinig pa ba sila? There is nothing like hearing and seeing things for yourself in terms of live performance. But i'm hoping that we can find a solution. Maybe there's a market for online shows." — LA, GMA News