Content warning: This article mentions of suicide, depression, and mental health.
Actress and singer Issa Pressman shared how bashing from netizens took a toll on her mental health. In an interview with Kapamilya broadcaster Karen Davila, she expressed how she also wanted to take her own life because of the nasty words that she’s gotten on social media.
Issa revealed that the bashing would even go as far as being attacked in person by strangers who would raise their middle fingers at her while taking a video.
READ: Issa Pressman opens up about her battle with depression
“Yung online bullying, when it came so intense–– nag-level up pa siya. In real life, they would take videos of me and they would flip me with an F U finger as if I was just a thing… They would take a video with flash pa in front of me,” she recalled.
The singer-songwriter admitted that she didn’t know what to do at the time and felt like she was a “thing to them.” She recalled how they would also send threats on social media about splashing acid on her face which was why she got afraid of leaving her house for her safety.
“It’s not right that they could just go that far. Ang dami pa–– they knew where my locations were. Parang if I would post where I was, they’d send me back the address and say mag ingat ka tatapunan ko ng acid yung mukha mo. I became so scared that’s why sometimes when someone calls me, nag aalangan ako kung lilingon ako or hindi,” she narrated.
It was because of these actions from the people that affected her mental health. She detailed how it affected her sleeping habits and eventually led her to wanting to end her life. Even if her boyfriend, James Reid, would try to uplift her, she found herself in a depressive state.
“I couldn’t sleep for a year and every time I would wake up, nakatulala na ako. Wala na akong gana,” she shared.
“And then James–– anything that he would do to pick me up, do something, go somewhere–– I didn’t want. There were a lot of lashouts, nanginginig ako kung lalabas. I need a lot of mental preparation. From then on, I had to take very strong sleeping pills, anti depressants which weren’t working na. It really wasn’t working anymore,” she continued.
READ: Issa Pressman on bashers: ‘I cannot control them’
Issa then revealed that it got to a point that she started believing the lies of the netizens about her on social media. For her, she felt that she was starting to hate herself as well because of the accusations thrown at her.
“I started believing nalang all of their accusations. I started believing that I was hated, I started believing that I was worth nothing. I started believing all of the things that they were throwing at me so that I started hating myself too,” she expressed.
Despite this, Issa maintained that because of her failed attempt at ending her own life, she found a calling to try and uplift others through using her platform for the better. She shared how she saw the importance of life and not taking it for granted.
* If you or a loved one is in need of help, contact the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) crisis hotline nationwide at 1553 or 1800-1888-1553; via Smart/TNT at 0919-057-1553; and via Globe/TM at 0917 899-8727.