Rising youth suicides in Manila, fuelled by emotional distress and digital triggers, have spurred calls to expand support for vulnerable Filipinos, as the deeply religious country begins to confront mental health more openly.

In 2018, Macy Castaneda Lee, a 16-year-old Manila high school student, thought about ending it all after grappling with past trauma, including childhood molestation.

Now a journalist and founder of the mental health advocacy group Talang Dalisay, Lee has turned that ordeal into purpose, supported by the understanding of a mother who is also a clinical psychologist.

“It wasn’t too long-lived … thankfully, I was fast enough to catch myself in those thoughts, and I would tell my mum. She handled it really well,” Lee said.

“What’s really striking is that I have a lot of friends who have been through something similar … It’s more common than we think.”

“When I started doing these projects, I realised I actually had a tangible way out of my situation. And doing that work, I started seeing a lot of people in a similar situation to mine, and I didn’t want them to be stuck there,” Lee said.

About 12.5 million Filipinos suffer from mental health disorders – mainly depression and anxiety – which occasionally lead to suicidal thoughts.