By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Dealing with pressures in life—whether at home, at school, or in the workplace—can get overwhelming and lead an individual to find ways in order to manage the physical and emotional tensions associated with the ebb and flow of daily living.
With the Philippines being a predominantly Catholic nation, it is not surprising that the majority of Filipinos lean on their religious beliefs to alleviate stress, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from September 24-30.
According to the SWS poll, 16% of respondents said that praying or engaging in spiritual activities helps in coping with daily pressures, reflecting how ingrained faith is in the country’s rich cultural backdrop, which extends in preserving the mental health of the masses.
This was followed by resting or sleeping (14%); going out or taking a leisure trip (11%); thinking positively (7%); focusing on work or school and ignoring or forgetting about the problem (6%); and spending time with family and exercising or going for a walk (4%), rounding out the top five primary ways that Filipinos deal with stress.
It is important to note, however, that praying to cope with stress is more common among women (20%) than men (14%), and sits atop other coping mechanisms in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, while sleeping topped the list in Mindanao and the Visayas.
The said exhaustive list moreover reflects the diversity of ways that Filipinos do to cope with the pressures of daily life, thus proving that beyond religion, the citizenry turns towards self-care and socialization to handle physical and emotional tensions.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above), with a sampling error margin of ±3%.
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