Project Stigma is a recently launched mental health awareness campaign in the Philippines, a partnership between The Platform News PH, the University of the Philippines, and other government and private stakeholders. It seeks to counter stigma, improve awareness, and encourage Filipinos—especially youth—to speak openly and seek help when needed.
Below are five segments that explore why Project Stigma matters, how it works, what challenges lie ahead, who the stakeholders are, and what readers can do to help.
1. What Is Project Stigma and Why Now
Project Stigma is a private‐public mental health awareness campaign recently launched, led by The Platform News PH together with several government and civil society partners, including the University of the Philippines.
- It seeks to address stigma around mental health by raising awareness, especially among the youth.
- It aims also to push for early detection, more accessible services, and for people to accept that “it is okay not to be okay.”
- The timing comes from growing concern: more Filipinos, especially young people, are being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Underreporting and stigma continue to block access to help.
Question it addresses: How can we shift public perception so that mental health struggles are met with empathy rather than shame?
2. Key Players & Their Roles
Many voices came into Project Stigma to ensure it’s not just talk but action. Here are some of the main contributors:
| Stakeholder | Role / Contribution |
|---|---|
| University of the Philippines (UP) | Partner in hosting events; providing academic and student community support; helping in dissemination and outreach. |
| The Platform News PH | Spearheaded the launch; acts as a platform to share stories, raise visibility, and call for action. |
| Philippine Psychiatric Association | Providing expertise, defining stigma, contributing to framing what needs to be addressed (e.g. shame, fear, misinformation). |
| ADHD Society of the Philippines | Highlighting the specific challenges of ADHD; pushing for specialized training for teachers, parents in recognizing mental health issues. |
| Government Agencies / Policy Makers (DILG, etc.) | Supporting the initiative; possibly helping scale awareness; enabling institutional support. |
Through this coalition, the campaign is better able to tackle stigma from multiple angles: education, media, policy, and community.
3. The Stigma Landscape: What Are the Barriers?
To understand what Project Stigma is up against, here are key obstacles illustrated by recent findings in the Philippines:
- Cultural attitudes: Mental health conditions often dismissed as a sign of weakness or lack of resilience. Fear of being labeled “crazy”, “abnoy,” or being misunderstood is common.
- Lack of awareness & misinformation: Many Filipinos do not recognize symptoms, assume severity is exaggerated, or think seeing a professional is unnecessary unless it’s “really bad.”
- Limited access to care: Mental health services are still scarce, especially in rural areas. Cost, distance, and lack of professionals are barriers.
- Self‐stigma and shame: Even when services are available, many avoid seeking help out of fear of judgment or bringing shame to their family.
- Policy gaps & implementation challenges: Although the Mental Health Act (RA 11036) exists, awareness about its provisions and enforcement is uneven especially among local government units.
Project Stigma aims to confront these barriers by not only raising awareness but by encouraging concrete changes: policy, education, and community attitudes.
4. On the Ground: Voices and Stories
While statistics tell one part of the story, personal experiences bring life to the need for change. Project Stigma includes voices of people who have felt the weight of stigma, and those working to alleviate it:
“Mental health is one of the most misunderstood, feared, and stigmatized aspects of our society.”
—President of UP Angelo A. Jimenez during the launch.
“It is not just about awareness; this is about a call to action that we must urgently answer.”
—remarks emphasizing urgency.
Some specific stories or examples:
- ADHD Society highlighted that 30% of children with ADHD drop out of school, and stigma is part of why many are not diagnosed early.
- Psychiatric leaders spoke about stigma leading to depression, anxiety, trauma and how negative labeling makes people hesitant to seek help.
These stories show that stigma isn’t just theoretical—it affects decisions, mental well-being, opportunities, and in worst cases, lives.
5. What Next: Paths Toward Healing & Collective Change
Project Stigma’s work is beginning, but what needs to happen to move from awareness to sustained change? Some of the proposed and needed actions include:
- Educational programs in schools and universities — early detection, mental health literacy, training teachers to recognize signs and respond with empathy.
- Media representation that humanizes mental illness — avoiding stereotypes, sharing lived experiences, using nuanced, compassionate stories.
- Policy enforcement and funding — ensuring that laws like RA 11036 are known and implemented in LGUs, budgeting for mental health, increasing number of professionals.
- Community support networks — peer support groups, safe spaces, both offline and online, where individuals can share without judgment.
- Encouraging help-seeking behavior — reducing self-stigma, making mental health services accessible and friendly; making conversations about mental health normal.
Project Stigma is more than a campaign—it’s an invitation to change. Meet the voices who refuse to stay silent; confront the stigma that distances people; commit to empathy instead of judgment. Because reshaping the mental health narrative is a collective act. Each conversation, each story, each listener matters.
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