Bianca’s coping tips to keep ‘quarantined minds’ healthy

Bianca with husband JC and daughters Lucia and Carmen

Allowing myself to feel things helps keep me sane,” said TV host Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, who is also a wife and a mom of two, on how she was able to cope well in these most difficult of times.

“Kasi ’pag ’di mo inilabas, mahirap. If you feel like crying, then do so. You’ll be surprised that because you were able to release pent-up emotions, you will be able to go on with your day,” Bianca told Inquirer Entertainment when asked for tips on how to best handle and process the news, good or bad, that you read every day.

“It was so hard for me, especially on the day of the announcement of the nonrenewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise. I grieved every day for three weeks (because of that incident),” recalled Bianca. “I would be reading while eating breakfast and would see on Facebook some of the goodbye posts from my workmates. I cried several times in front of my family during those times. Ang lakas makabaliw ng time na ’yon. It was a very difficult time for me.”

As a TV and events host, Bianca said she hoped to strike a balance between always being aware of the news, and not feeling sad the whole day because of it. “When you tune in, sasakit talaga ang puso mo. What I do is I still check the news every day—for some reason, I can’t not know what’s going on—but I choose what to focus on. There was a time when I stopped looking at the (COVID-19) case count so I won’t feel too anxious; less on the numbers and more on the explanation as to why things are happening,” she explained.

Bianca said that because there’s so much misinformation, she has also become more conscious of what to repost on her social media accounts. “I only repost articles from the traditional news organizations,” she pointed out. “What I’ve also learned was that it’s not safe, especially during quarantine, when you just read and rely on the headlines. You have to take time to read the article. I stay away from the news when I feel overwhelmed. There were days when it really took a toll on my mental health. During Sundays, I try as much as possible to check the news minimally.”

Just like most moms, learning about the effect of COVID-19 and its symptoms have made Bianca paranoid, “especially because I’d hear so many stories of people who didn’t go out of their houses but still got infected. I’m also super praning—I’d worry with every little itch in my throat, and with every headache, or if any of my kids feel feverish.”

She further said: “A huge part of what has helped me cope, especially when quarantine was first announced (in March), was the analogy I made that since everyone is expected to just stay at home, everyone will feel what it’s like to be a (PBB) housemate.”

Since this was the connection Bianca made in her head, she said she was able to device a “game plan.” Her YouTube channel, iamsuperbianca, has a segment called “Paano Ba ’To?” While the whole of Luzon underwent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Bianca invited different psychologists and life coaches “to give answers to all our concerns.”

She said the plan was to make her audience understand how an individual’s behavior changes when stuck at home. “I knew from then on that I would be making a quarantine series,” Bianca declared. “My quest to try to shed light on the situation of staying home led to other issues that I sought the advice of experts for and put into video. I learned a lot of coping tools, as well as how to avoid overthinking. What I did also helped me a lot personally.”

We asked Bianca to share some tips she has picked up while talking with the experts. “Separate in your head the things that you can and can’t control. Things that are outside of your house are those you cannot control. Don’t focus on them. Instead, be concerned with what’s inside your house,” she said.

In terms of dealing with the hubby, professional basketball player JC Intal, Bianca has this to say. “The first few weeks required a major adjustment for us. Of course, even though you’re married, you’re not used to being together 24/7. That’s why we really got on each other’s nerves. We’re also not the type who would talk things out before going to bed. We prefer to tackle issues in the morning with cooler heads,” she said. “It helped a lot when we developed a routine. We also made sure to give each other ‘me’ time. Whenever I have work, I would already inform him in the morning. This means it’s his turn to take care of the kids. JC is into painting, too. When it’s his ‘me’ time, he’ll say, ‘I’ll go paint tonight.”

Bianca Gonzalez

Bianca has learned that the happiest beings during quarantine time are toddlers and pets. Bianca has two daughters, Lucia Martine, 4, and Carmen Eliana, 1.

“Kids—and pets—don’t care about the quarantine. They’re just happy that Mommy and Daddy are home all the time. With regards to keeping our sanity as parents at home, having a routine helped. We know what time we could work or rest because that’s also the time the kids are asleep,” she explained.

Because of the lockdown, the bigger kids are now into distance learning, and parents resort to being their teachers at home, Bianca pointed out. “One tip I got that is applicable to small kids is to make sure schooling is fun for them. For bigger kids, I agree to what a mom said in our mommy group chat that this year is really not about grades, but about adjusting. They don’t want to pressure their kids to really perform in class because we’re going through an extraordinary time,” Bianca shared with Inquirer Entertainment.

Being that these days are really extraordinary, Bianca said she took it upon herself to teach her children the value of gratefulness and appreciation. She added: “I recently did a series of interviews that I found interesting. I take to heart now what I’ve learned from those interviews. When they pray, they ask God to teach us the lesson He wants us to learn from this experience. They believe that there’s a better plan for everyone, and so they ask God to enlighten us about this grand plan. I also incorporated this in my prayer.” INQ