WATCH: Gretchen Ho gives faith testimonial to fellow ‘restless’ youth on how to conquer anxiety

Gretchen Ho. Image: Instagram/@gretchenho

TV host Gretchen Ho opened up about her experience with anxiety last Black Saturday, April 11. The anxiety is due to the nature of her work and the ongoing health crisis, she said, and is something that she has conquered by placing more trust in God.

Ho took part in an online retreat, where she narrated personal anecdotes about how she strengthened her faith in Jesus Christ, as seen on her Instagram account yesterday, April 13.

The “Umagang Kay Ganda” host revealed that she went on a social media break during the Holy Week, as per her Twitter post on Easter Sunday, April 12.

“Several days without social media has been really refreshing and peaceful,” Ho said.

Several days without social media has been really refreshing and peaceful 🙂

Happy Easter! Christ is risen 🙏🏻
There is hope 🙂

— Gretchen Ho (@gretchenho) April 12, 2020

Ho likened the situation with COVID-19 to biblical times after Christ’s death at the cross. The host said people today are also uncertain about the future, much like Jesus’s disciples were after his death.

“Black Saturday was after the death of Christ, it was filled with deep silence, with fear, with anxiety, with a lot of uncertainty,” she said.

To keep her own anxiety at bay during the quarantine, Ho kept a daily routine and a set of goals throughout the day and for the entire week.

She also recalled her anxieties regarding work and how she tried to cope by working twice as hard on every project. Ho said that in her line of business, the uncertainty about the future was always present.

“Kahit na may trabaho ka po ngayon, hindi niyo po alam kung bukas sikat pa ba ko, bukas may career pa ba ko,” she said.

(Even though you have work right now, you do not know if tomorrow I am still famous? If tomorrow, do I still have a career?)

Ho narrated that after a while, she experienced an anxiety attack from over fatigue. She saw this event as “God’s wake-up call” for her, which led her to reconfigure her mindset.

“Am I really still doing it for His glory, for His purpose? Or am I doing it for myself?” she meditated. “And I realize, I was doing it, I was exerting my effort because of my insecurities.”

The TV host arrived at the conclusion that many things are beyond people’s control. She then emphasized that things “are in God’s control” and that people should “trust Him more.” The realization allowed Ho to let go of the things she only did to please other people.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-6ELrRDqTW/

The former volleyball athlete also urged her fellow “restless” youth to devote these times to having more “conversations” with the Lord through prayer, for divine guidance on what they could do with their time, will and energy.

Ho also accompanied her video testimonial with a message to her fans.

“Experiencing anxiety, especially at this time, is a normal thing,” she said. “What we have to do is to pause, reflect on it, understand it, pray to the Lord about it and seek help when needed.”

Ho was a part of an online retreat conducted by the “Paghilom: An Online Holy Week Retreat for the Youth with Fr Soc Villegas” which ran from April 9 to 12, details of which were posted on Facebook. JB

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