How acting, music help Elijah cope with grief, anxiety after brother’s passing

MANILA, Philippines, December 2 ------ Two years after the death of his brother JM, Elijah Canlas and his family continue to grapple with their loss. Elijah shared in an interview during the presscon for “Salvageland” how his craft has aided him in dealing with grief and anxiety. Aside from movies, he is also pursuing music and theater.

“I like being busy. It keeps me not really distracted, but when I’m busy, I think less about the grief or whatever anxieties I have. When I’m on set, just doing what I love to do, yun yung nag e-equate sa happiness (for me),” he stated. “It’s been two years since my brother passed, but it’s really hard to process grief, of course, grief is non-linear. It comes and goes. Sometimes, you’re OK. The next hour may makikita ka or maalala and then, it ruins the vibe, not really ruin, but mas bumababa lang bigla yung emotions and energy.” The thespian, nonetheless, used such emotions “for the better.” “Use it as an inspiration to do better in my projects and pumili ng mga bagay na matutuwa ako.”

As an actor, he admitted that his diverse roles have somehow affected his mental health. “But I guess with the proper training and experience, you will get used to learning how to detach and attach to the characters that you play. But at this point, kinakaya ko na din po mag-detach easily,” he maintained. “But I’ve been talking to a lot of actors, especially the young ones who have difficulty detaching from their characters and separating what’s real and what’s not. They will experience it eventually. But masasanay din na lang po yung mga aktor na this is just work and our lives shouldn’t be defined by our work.”

Elijah and his family established a non-profit organization dedicated to mental health advocacy called Kalinga, Unawa at Linang sa Isip at Taglay (KULIT) The JM Canlas Organization in honor of his brother who was 17 at the time of his passing. “My brother passed away two years ago because of mental health problems. Ever since that happened, we’ve been trying to help more people, especially in the youth sector, adolescents, who are going through the same thing, and hopefully save more lives and be there for each other.”

When news broke of the death of 19-year-old Emmanuelle “Emman” Atienza, daughter of TV host Kim Atienza, recently, Elijah couldn’t help but be reminded of the memories of his own sibling’s passing. “The memories resurfaced. Yung dati ko na nagkaroon ng relapse, anxiety and depression. It’s like a wake-up call for us that every time na may balitang lalabas ng ganito, sana di tayo mawalan ng mga buhay, especially with the younger generation, because of this kind of problem. I hope people will take this more seriously. Start the conversation, and let’s not be afraid to talk about it because it is necessary. Life is at stake here,” he reflected. He stressed that people should be “more emphatic, considerate, and kind.”

Source: philstar.com