Anxiety, depression top reasons for calls to DOH mental health hotline

Anxiety and depression were the leading reasons for asking for help on the mental health hotline of the Department of Health (DOH) during the last week of 2025.

According to the DOH, 65 Filipinos called the DOH National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) hotline due to anxiety and depressive symptoms they are experiencing now that the end of the year is approaching.

The second reason for calling the crisis hotline is problems in love life or relationships, followed by family disputes.

"Our NCMH Crisis Hotline 1553 is open 24/7. No holidays. We have on-duty crisis responders who can help you," Dr. Rodney Boncajes, NCMH Medical Specialist IV, said in Filipino.

"Aside from that, those individuals who are in crisis who will be requiring immediate intervention clinically, the NCMH emergency room is open 24/7, even on holidays," Boncajes said.

The NCMH received the majority of calls before Christmas Eve from individuals aged 18 to 30 years old.

In total, 451 mental health-related cases have been recorded from 21 to 26 December.

More crisis hotlines

Currently, the NCMH has counselors and psychologists who are providing different kinds of mental health interventions.

"We continue to improve their capacity to help other people by providing them technical expertise, such as how to handle calls or what to say to those who are calling," Boncajes said.

He added that the NCMH currently has only 25 mental health responders, and they are aiming to increase them in 2026.

"We're still aiming to have more crisis hotline responders. Our duty responders are on a shifting duty, but we're hoping that with the increase in callers, we can also increase the number of our responders soon," he said.