Filipino-led forum in Toronto tackles mental health, body image | ABS-CBN

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Filipino-led forum in Toronto tackles mental health, body image

Filipino-led forum in Toronto tackles mental health, body image

ABS-CBN News,

Christine Santos | TFC News Toronto

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The Filipino group Kalamansi Collective recently led a panel discussion in Toronto on mental health and body image.

Its founder Kris Pangilinan said the issue of mental health is often not discussed within Filipino families.

"You'll have your parents say, 'Oh, you've gotten fat,' or 'When are you getting married'?" he said. "Those conversations affect a person’s mental health. We're having a conversation on how we address these with our family members."

Filipino-Canadian personalities shared their stories and highlighted how older generations’ perceptions of body image impact the mental well-being of the young.

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They stressed the need for more conversations to break this stigma.

"One of the hardest things in our culture [is] when you hear comments here and there from our elders about our appearances," said Amira de Vera of Project Four Public Relations. "It's good to speak up for yourself even though it is hard."

Members of the panel included Canada’s minister of small business, Rechie Valdez.

"I hope people watch and share the things that we were able to talk about so that we can finally move on from our traumas," she said, "and get to a place where we can stop trampling on each other."

Valdez added: "When one of us rises, we all rise."

Attendees expressed a renewed motivation to initiate dialogues with older generations while striving to understand their perspectives.

"We need to talk about things, everything that is taboo, everything that’s been hidden in our culture to start to disrupt the norms that we’ve been living with," said Dee of Rise Tribe. "If we can’t change the previous generations, then we can start the change with us."

Kalamansi Collective vowed to continue these conversations to create a more supportive community where Filipinos feel safe discussing difficult topics like mental health.

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