Photo from Moira dela Torre's Instagram account
MANILA -- Prolific singer-songwriter Moira dela Torre admitted that having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has affected her songwriting process.
In an interview on Hannah Pangilinan’s podcast, Dela Torre revealed that PCOS symptoms include brain fog, depression and insomnia. For instance, she said she once forgot her own dog’s name.
“Wanting to be fully present ‘cause I realized with my polycystic ovaries like, there’s little awareness for it especially here in our country. Like 25% of women have it. So, that’s a lot. And when I found out about it — actually I found so many symptoms first,” she said.
Dela Torre went on to say that the symptoms she experienced gave her anxiety as she was not aware of her health condition back then.
“There are times when I’m not eating well. I get brain fog. Like there was one time I forgot my own dog’s name. But I knew his name and I just couldn’t say it. And it was just so frustrating that it gave me so much anxiety. Like ‘what is happening?’ I just couldn’t remember,” the 27-year-old singer recalled.
The “Paubaya” hit singer also shared how having PCOS prevented her from writing songs, when normally she can write a song in 15 minutes.
“Before the pandemic, I couldn’t even write. Having been able to write ‘Malaya’ in like 10 minutes or ‘Saglit’ in 15 minutes. So many songs that I get to write because my brain was good, my brain was healthy. And I was just writing down what I felt in like a really short amount of time,” Dela Torre admitted.
Her struggles forced Dela Torre to seek medical attention just before she got married to her husband Jason Marvin Hernandez.
“Songwriting has always been my outlet. So to not be able to write that way meant so much storage and so much baggage that I couldn’t release. So, I started seeing my doctor. I said something was not good. And this was right before my wedding. And I found out I had polycystic ovaries,” the singer said.
Dela Torre also talked about the importance of taking care of one's body which, according to her, she only realized when she got married.
She said it is her dream to build a family with her husband without worrying about her health.
“It’s really great for you to be understanding this now even before you get married. But with me, it didn’t really occur to me until I realized another dream and that dream is to grow old with my husband and to give my kids a healthy mom and to be able to make sure that they live their best lives because they wouldn’t have to worry about their mom who’s healthy,” she added.
These days, dela Torre has been very cautious with her health and listening to her body.
“Ever since, I’ve been trying to change my diet, finding what’s good for me and what’s not. And also, when you go online, you get information overload. Now, I’m starting to see that if you have polycystic ovaries, there’s still not much research about it. So, you just really have to listen to your body.”
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