Nadine Lustre and Alden Richards, like many others, revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on their mental health.

They, like the rest of us, had to follow quarantine protocols and adjust to the “new normal.” And during these uncertain times, mental health is proven more fragile than ever.

Nadine and Alden mentioned that they also had their fair share of mental health struggles since the quarantine declaration began.

During the online conference of the Century Tuna Superbods last Saturday, July 25, the two celebrities both expressed their gratitude to their families for being by their side, as well as to their friends who constantly check up on them while the outside world is in chaos.

Nadine said, “It was really tough kasi there are so many things happening not only here in the Philippines but also throughout the world.

“I’m really thankful that my friends would always check up on me because it’s really hard. I live with my assistant, my brother, and my dog. I don’t have a lot of friends around the area so I would just talk to them, message them and they always check up on me.

“I’m really lucky kasi they are always there to support me. And they never stop, I’m grateful to have friends who really care about me and of course, family as well.”

Nadine also admitted that she became too emotional because of the pandemic. In order to keep herself afloat, she makes sure to distract herself by keeping herself busy.

She makes sure to communicate and connects with her friends as much as possible. Watching movies and writing in her journal became her outlet to de-stress as well.

Alden, for his part, said that the pandemic really challenged his sanity especially during the early weeks of the quarantine.

“It’s not normal for us,” he shared. “This pandemic came in without notice. We only thought of it like a virus from another country. And all of a sudden, it became a pandemic. A lot has changed.

“You are not allowed to go out, you’re just advised by the government to stay at home. Mahirap siya for me kasi I’m a very active person I always go to work 24/7 for the past five years.”

He added, “I’ll have to admit that that first three weeks of this crisis medyo mahirap siya mentally, of course. You wake up, you do your thing, you take a bath, you eat, and you sleep again. And for the past three months, ganoon lang nangyayari. So parang when the second month of the quarantine came in, parang medyo may feeling na, ‘kailan ba matatapos ito?’ Ang hirap.”

Alden mentioned that instead of stressing over the things he can’t control, he focused his energy instead to look at the bright side–which is spending quality time with his family.

“What I did really during this pandemic was to look at the bright side of it and not look at the things I can’t do anymore as a person that I used to do. With that tool and mindset, I was able to cope up with the new normal. And parang hindi na siya naging mahirap.

“I really use this time to mend the holes. To be with my family and get to talk to them na kaharap sila nang hindi through online or any forms of media. I really took this time to stitch up ’yung mga nawalang moments,” said Alden.