Why Are Filipinos Stressed-Out

Why Filipinos are Stressed Out

In a survey conducted in August 2006 by the Reader’s Digest and Nielsen Media Research, Filipinos are ranked as the most stressed-out people in Asia. The survey included seven countries—the Philippines, Hong Kong (for China), India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Really now?

If this is indeed true, I wonder what Filipinos are so stressed-out of. Is it the work? Is it their miserable condition? Sure, there are so many things that can give you stress in the Philippines. And since the news article did not explain the source of this stress, I might as well relate it to my own experience. Personally, I don’t think Filipinos are stressed-out because of work (although, I’m willing to concede, some indeed are). Filipinos are stressed-out because the quality of life in the Philippines, particularly in the urban areas, is simply bad. Living in Manila, for example, exposes you to numerous stressful conditions. Polluted air greets you from the moment you step onto the road. Sidewalks are very narrow, occupied by vendors, dumped with garbage, or even nonexistent. If you commute from home to work and vice-versa, your condition does not get any better. Bus stops don’t exist. And where they do, they are simply ignored. Commuters don’t line up to take a ride, nor do jeepneys and buses when they pick up passengers. At the loading stations barkers abound. They shout, nay, they “bark” at you as if you’re an idiot who needs to be told of your destination. Behind you, beside you—all over you—the jeepneys, tricycles, motorcycles, buses and cars assault you with incessant blowing of horns. They zoom past you, they spew black smoke at you. You are shoved. You are mobbed. Your pocket is picked. You’re nothing now but a wasted and abused worker, and you haven’t even reached your office yet. You are stressed-out.