MANILA – Former “Pinoy Big Brother Otso” housemate Wakim Regalado openly talked about his mental health with the aim of changing other people’s perception about those with the same condition.

In an interview with Boy Abunda, Regalado said he used to have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was a child.

“My parents had me checked. I was diagnosed at age six and my parents made it a point na sasabihin kaagad sa akin na parang your superior IQ gives you the potential to do really well academically but your ADHD is a hindrance to that. Because people with ADHD tend to find it harder in school,” he said.

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Aside from having ADHD, Regalado said he was also diagnosed to have an anxiety disorder, from which he is still coping until today.

“It started off when I was about to go on an exchange program in South Korea. I am very religious. I grew up [going to] a Catholic Opus Dei school. I would sometimes stay up at night, not able to sleep when I was that little all the way up to when I was 14. I would think of existential things parang afterlife,” he said.

“I saw a specialist din. I was diagnosed with anxiety and I ended up taking medication for it. For today, I am coping. I am still on medication but it’s a lot better,” he added.

By openly talking about his condition, Regalado said it is his ultimate goal to break the stigma relating to it.

“I want to show the people that mental health illnesses can, just as much as anyone else, be functional members of the society and can achieve big things,” he said.