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Abstract
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A recently published editorial of this journal states that 'the world needs an enquiry [sic] so as to learn as many lessons as possible'.1 One of the lessons learned can be gleaned from the letter correspondences that have stressed the intervening potential of religious and/or spiritual support in the pandemic, particularly the role of spirituality2 and religious institutions such as the Catholic Church.3 The long period of lockdown in the Philippines, however, resulted in psychological problems that precipitated self-harm and self-destructive behaviors.4
Late August 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) of the Philippines has particularly called on the Catholic Church and other religions for guidance and conveying a 'message of hope'.5 It has particularly pinpointed the aid in flattening not the curve of coronavirus deaths but suicide cases.6 This is upon contextualizing what Menardo Guevarra, IATF official, calls an 'alarming' case of rising suicide rates during the pandemic.7
However, we emphasize that suicide prevention is a more serious case as it deals with an existential crisis, which is not necessarily spiritual. There are, of course, limits in reducing COVID-19 suicide interventions to spiritual matters. Worship services have gone virtual. However, religious service attendance cannot protect against suicide ideation.8 Moreover, it is only after physical treatment that spiritual-religious psychotherapy can be done.9 This will lead to the already reported resolves of either that all religious leaders must be trained about suicide crisis intervention 'to foster coordination with mental health services' or healthcare providers be trained in 'how to approach spiritual/religious themes in suicide prevention'.10 COVID-19 Mental health, Psychosocial11 and counseling12 hotlines in the Philippines are also already available...
Language: en |