Heart Evangelista, the only Pinay to speak at the Global Town Hall 2020, highlights mental health

Heart Evangelista, the only Filipino woman to give a talk at the virtual international event "Global Town Hall 2020," used the platform to raise awareness and remove the stigma surrounding mental health.

"In a way I feel like every time a Filipino goes somewhere I'm very proud," the actress and artist told GMA News Online on Friday. "I'm also very proud I was given a platform to talk about the things I'm passionate about. It inspires me to do more."

She added, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that someone would contact me to talk about what I'm really passionate about. It gives more meaning to what I do."

 

 

 

 

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Heart, who has been vocal about her own experiences dealing with her mental health and battling through her anxiety, spoke about the need to normalize talking about mental health in conversations and get rid of the stigma.

During the one-day global event, Friday, she said, "It's something not a lot of people talk about openly. It's not as normalized as it should be."

"This is a personal topic for me. I, myself, for what I've been doing for 24 years — all the pressure of showbusiness, trying to be beautiful, trying not to be scandalous, and all of that — that does something to you subconsciously, in a way damages your soul," Heart added.

More importantly, the actress emphasized for everyone to know that it's okay to not be okay.

"Hopefully I was able to reach someone who needed to hear that," Heart said during the interview.

Aside from Heart, multiple global leaders such as the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr Mari Pangestu Managing Director of the World Bank Dr. Mari Pangestu, Executive Director of Manila Observatory  Dr. Antonio La Viña and political analyst Richard Heydarian gave their respective talks at the global event which aimed to discuss how to rebuild the post pandemic world. 

Earlier this year, Heart revealed the extent of her mental health concerns.

Heart admitted to having had "slight depression" in 2018, when she lost her twin babies from a miscarriage.

And last November, it manifested on her body through the Burning Tongue Syndrome.

Heart had another bout of it, right before the quarantine period. And it was only when she was stuck at home due to lockdown that she finally started to handle her depression and anxiety better. —JCB, GMA News