Heart Evangelista shared her own experiences during the international conference Global Town Hall 2020 to raise awareness and help end the stigma surrounding mental health.
Initiated by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), the live virtual meeting with the theme “Rebuilding From The COVID-19 World” invited speakers from around the world including Evangelista, who was the only Filipino celebrity at the event held on November 20, 2020. The Filipina actress was joined by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq and Indonesian-German actress Cinta Laura Kiehl to share their personal concerns and messages of hope during difficult times.
Heart Evangelista used the platform to normalize conversations about mental health and encourage more people to seek help and open up about their own struggles. The Filipino artist hopes that raising awareness would remove the negative stigma and discrimination faced by those living with mental disorders and issues.
“It is something that not a lot of people talk about openly. It’s still not as normalized as it should be,” Heart Evangelista said during the one-day global discussion attended by participants from more than 65 countries.
The actress revealed how she bravely battled depression and anxiety for years and was diagnosed with the rare condition Burning Tongue Syndrome due to her anxiety.
“It’s okay not to be okay. When you feel like you cannot get out of it, trust me you will get out of it,” shared Evangelista.
“This is a time to rediscover yourself…there are many outlets out there that can make you the best version of yourself,” she added.
Heart Evangelista says she was proud to represent the Philippines in the international discussion as well as her passion for her personal advocacy, mental health.
The 15-hour marathon of webinars in this year’s Global Town Hall discussed topics on the impact of COVID-19 on world affairs with some of the leading minds from across the globe including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and vaccine makers, among others.
Asia’s fashion icon Heart Evangelista has also advocated for animal rights and together with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) group rescued pets inside the Taal danger zone while her project Big Heart PH provided students with distance learning tools.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Heart Evangelista for helping end stigma about mental health at the Global Town Hall 2020.
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