How OFWs Can Effectively Take Care of Their Mental Health

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) numbered about 1.77 million in 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Office. This number increased significantly in recent years and may rise further.

But if we look beyond the numbers, OFWs are someone's parents, siblings, and relatives who chose to leave their home country in search of better opportunities. As Filipinos, we have a strong familial bond and keep our families together through thick and thin.

OFWs find it extremely difficult to be separated from their families, which explains why they are more vulnerable to mental health issues.

As today's culture becomes more aware of the value of mental health and self-care, OFWs must look after their mental health. This is key to sustaining themselves through their challenging situation.

If you or someone you know is an OFW, here are 5 mental health tips that can be valuable during moments of struggle, loneliness, homesickness, or anxiety.

1. Stay in contact with your loved ones

You spend many years away from home and must leave your kids and families. Inevitably, you will have overwhelming emotions of sadness being alone in a foreign country. Fortunately, connecting with your loved ones is just one tap away on our devices.

With the help of social media and video conferencing platforms, such as Facebook, Messenger, and Zoom, you can now easily keep track of your family back home. You get to see your child's sports games, watch their activities live, and even talk to them in real-time, albeit virtually.

Technology allows you to interact with your loved ones back at home and feel their presence in your life, and vice versa. You only need to have a fixed schedule for calls. Treat it like an appointment, like how you would typically prepare and bring your child for a weekend stroll at the park.

Make sure you're all familiar with each other's time zones and the hours when you're all awake and available. You can even help your kids with their homework or advise them on their teenage explorations.

Similarly, update them on how you are and what you've been doing. This kind of sharing will give you something to discuss and look forward to on those calls. Share your thoughts—remember, it's OK to be vulnerable. It lets you ease your struggles. 

2. Reach out to OFW communities

Living in a foreign land is difficult because of cultural differences, and the constant feeling of unfamiliarity may affect your mental health as an OFW.

Fortunately, it's easy to find a Filipino wherever you are. OFWs have formed local communities abroad thanks to our strong sense of family and community.

If you're unsure where to start, the Philippine Embassy in your country of employment most likely has information on OFW communities you can join.

You can also search for Facebook groups for OFW communities in your host country. When you find one, spend some time with our kababayans, cook and share Filipino food, and just find someone you can talk to because if anyone can understand your struggles, it is them.

Plus, nothing really beats personal interaction when it comes to curing homesickness and isolation.

3. Apply for OFW welfare services

You can now access mental health services supported by the Philippine government. For example, if you are diagnosed with mental health-related problems, you will receive benefits and compensation from your insurance and government agencies, including PhilHealth and SSS.

Support programs and free mental health training are also available, including the "Kumusta, Kabayan" app. This system was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from this, several mental wellness apps can help you get through each day and your most challenging times.

Telepsychiatry care is also available for OFWs under the PCHRD-supported project. Here, you can schedule a counseling session with a psychologist. It is video-based, so it's convenient and readily accessible.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Organization (POLO) welfare services are also available. These services include training on skill and entrepreneurial development, management of OFW cases and complaints, custodial services for OFWs seeking shelter from abuse, and repatriation assistance for immediate travel back home.

4. Practice self-care whenever possible

With a busy work schedule and a family to care for, you might think you don't have the time or luxury to practice self-care, but this shouldn't be the case.

Self-care doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. You can practice it for short intervals every day at no cost! You can schedule exercises or morning jogs to reduce stress, have a journal, or install wellness apps on your phone to guide you.

5. Plan for the future

One possible cause of your stress and anxiety as an OFW is thinking about the security of your family's future or planning your own retirement. Since you can't keep working forever, you may worry about what will happen to your family if you no longer work abroad. 

To ease your worries, consider getting a life insurance plan. BPI AIA offers security for yourself and your entire family, financial investment opportunities, or a combination of these.

By allotting a portion of your current earnings for the future, you're investing in the security of your own family and stress-free retirement.

Take Care of the Present You, Invest in the Future You

You hustle miles away from home so you can support your family. But it would help if you also prioritize your mental health, especially amid all the mental and emotional strain of being abroad.

Stay in contact with your family, connect with your kababayans, take advantage of OFW welfare programs when necessary, tend to your mental well-being, and invest for the future.

These mental health tips for OFWs like you are a reminder to take care of yourself, not just the present but also the future you. When you save and invest now, you give your future self the chance to enjoy life and retirement even when you're no longer working.

So start building that future as early as now. Talk to our financial experts and set your financial goals today!