Former broadcast journalist Joseph Holandes Ubalde talked about his battle with depression through a Facebook video which was posted four days after his unexpected death.
The video entitled “My Depression”, which lasted for 33 minutes, was scheduled to be posted on Ubalde’s Facebook page called “The Digital Nomad” on April 5 at 11:11 AM.
Here, Ubalde opened up how he would suddenly experience anxiety attacks during his younger years.
Revealing that it was in 2016 when he was clinically diagnosed with depression and sought the help of psychiatrists, the late discussed in passing that he was allegedly beaten up by his own father and being bullied in school.
He admitted that he is a happy person but deep inside, he said, he pretends to be fine around people–battling his own inner demons when he’s alone.
The late broadcast journalist said that he could have battled out depression better if more people would have known his condition. That even a simple “How are you?” can be of great help.
“What a depressed person like me needs is a support system.
“I had no one to assure me or validate me that everything will be okay.
“I wish I had more friends who I can call at midnight, ungodly hours when the pangs of depression are attacking.
“That I think is important: friends who would genuinely check up on you, who would really ask you how you are and who are really invested in your wellness.
“If I had friends like that, I think I would not have kept all my problems to myself and feel alone,” he said.
Ubalde also said that people should avoid invalidating a person’s emotions or comparing their own experiences with them.
“The worst thing that a friend could do or say when a person is depressed is, ‘Wala ‘yan, ako nga ganito, or friend, magdasal ka lang, or eh kasi naman ito ginagawa mo dapat ganito’,” he said.
“Most depressed people just want someone who listens to their pain and someone who acknowledges that their pain is legitimate, that their pain is not imaginary,” he added.
He also asked netizens not to downplay what a depressed person is going through.
“Don’t pep me up by attacking how I feel. Feelings are neither right nor wrong but they are always true,” he said.
He also encouraged those who are going through the same thing as him to seek professional help.
“I encourage you to seek out help as I did. Treat it like any other illness that needs a doctor’s opinion or a doctor’s diagnosis. Do not self-medicate,” he said.
Ubalde also called from the improvement of services in the Philippines that will help people with depression because he said that the cost of therapy and medications sometimes discourages people to undergo medication and treatment.
“I don’t think I have met anyone who went to a psychologist and kept the medication,” he said.
Towards the end of his video, Ubalde left a message to those who are battling depression and other mental health issues that they are “not weak” and that they could “fight” their demons.
“For people who are depressed or undergoing any mental issue, fight,” he said.
“Fight even when it seems like everyday is a struggle and you are not winning anything. Fight not just for you family, not just for your friends. Fight for yourself,” he added.
He ended his video by flashing a smile telling his viewers to “just be kind to one another and be understanding of each other’s struggles.”
“See you on the other side,” he said before ending the clip.
Ubalde passed away on Monday, April 1, after he was found lifeless inside the bathroom of his hotel room at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City, 5:30 p.m. He was 33.
