MANILA—A child psychologist said one's faith and spirituality can play a big role in coping with the effects of illness and COVID-19.
" 'Yung No. 1 coping tip ko is parang 'yung faith and spirituality. Hindi ko masyadong nababasa 'yun sa mga psychology research, pero sa konteksto natin, sa kultura natin, I think dapat hindi natin kalimutan 'yun," Dr. Rhea Lopa-Ramos said in an interview with Jing Castañeda.
(My No. 1 coping tip is faith and spirituality. We don't usually see this in psychology research but in our context, in our culture, I think we shouldn't forget this.)
Ramos talked about how to cope with illness and COVID-19 after Castañeda shared that everyone in her family, including their helpers, tested positive for COVID-19. Her husband, Nonong Velasco, even had to be hospitalized due to severe pneumonia.
Velasco acknowledged he felt guilty for getting everyone in his family sick, especially since they are all still reeling from his brother's death.
For Ramos, everyone deals with the psychological effects of COVID-19 on their own, and there is nothing wrong with that.
"Iba-iba talaga 'yung mga pinagdadaanan natin and the important thing to remember is normal lahat itong iba't ibang reactions. Parang walang tama o maling way to deal with this kind of stressor," she said.
(We go through different things and the important thing to remember is that different reactions are normal. There is no right or wrong way to deal with this kind of stressor.)
Ramos said there may be what she called "post-traumatic growth", or a positive development from a bad situation.
"May positive benefits 'yung trauma na pinagdaanan ninyo. Parang from something that is technically a difficult or bad situation, pwedeng umusbong 'yung something na positive," she said.
(You may get some positive benefits from a trauma, or from a bad or difficult situation.)
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