Anxious Over COVID-19? The Gov't Mental Health Hotline is Free, Confidential

Anxiety is the top concern of scores of Filipinos who call the government's mental health hotline as the COVID-19 quarantine passed the five-month mark. It's confidential and free so give it a try if you are down with the lockdown blues, the Department of Health said Thursday.

In August alone, with a few more days left in the month, the National Center for Mental Health recorded 109 calls for anxiety. Calls to the hotline peaked last June with 1,115, said DOH Usec. Rosario Vergeire.

The NCMH Crisis Hotlines are as follows: 0917-899-USAP (8727), (02) 7-989-USAP, and 1553 (landline to landline, toll-free).

Suicide concerns had an average of 53 calls per month, with 115 in July as the highest. Some are repeat callers, Vergeire said.

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"Anyone who calls here, no information will go out because we had an agreement with our responders. They're trained to refer, triage, to assess who needs higher level of facility," she said.