Doctor’s Note

hristmas reminds us that care, compassion, and presence matter—especially in moments of illness. As doctors, we see this

he holiday season is a time for joy, reunion, and well-deserved rest. Tables are fuller, laughter is louder,

he Christmas season arrives with its familiar glow—parols lighting our streets, the scent of bibingka and puto bumbong

n this issue of H&L, we highlight one of the most common yet most overlooked illnesses affecting Filipino

e Filipinos know, perhaps more than most, what it means to live with storms. We live in an

n medicine, we talk endlessly about treatments, tests, and targets. But there is a kind of healing that

e often glorify those who burn the midnight oil — the executives who stay online past midnight, the

n a noisy world of notifications and breaking news, silence feels strange. Yet silence is where healing begins.

ratitude is medicine for the soul. It restores balance to the body, lightness to the spirit, and peace

few seconds—that’s all it takes for the ground to move, the walls to shake, and for everything familiar