Spotlight
Bettina Carlos: Less is More
Bettina Carlos Eduardo took a leap of faith to discover a simpler way of life filled with everyday bounty.
Cabin fever was a recurring theme throughout the course of the pandemic. As soon as a second ECQ was announced in Metro Manila, actor Bettina Carlos Eduardo knew for certain that she was running a high temperature. She begins, “I’m thankful that our family survived Lockdown 1.0 (from March 2020 to March 2021). It did not feel like we were quarantined at all since we are such homebodies. I am used to being with my daughter Gummy and our helper Yatch all the time.”
How the Pandemic Took a Toll on Her Mental Health
The thread of a second wave, however, made the idea of living through another lockdown inside a condominium unit unbearable. She recalls, “ECQ left us feeling suffocated in our small condo home.”
The mental stress and anxiety of living in confined spaces, and making sure the family’s morale stayed high, took a toll on Bettina Carlos. She confides, “Sometime during March after Gummy’s 10th birthday, I was just feeling down. It was bordering depression and I couldn’t express it openly to my family because I didn’t want to discourage the whole household.”
Bettina Carlos on Moving to La Union
It was then that Bettina Carlos and her family decided to move to La Union. Three days before ECQ was declared, they packed their bags and hit the road. It’s been a journey paved with many breakthroughs and realizations since.
Bettina intimates, “The probinsya life slowly grew on me. I’m really enjoying and embracing the humble life we have now. We didn’t bring much from the city. There’s joy in having little, but we’ve been conditioned to think it is from having more.”
Now a proud resident of the northern coastal city, Bettina Carlos says that trading in urban life for the province has been her best decision yet. She even encourages others to consider a quiet existence outside of the city center. “It might be a bit uncomfortable at first. But think of it as a time to grow and try something new, to find out what you really need. Take the time to revisit the essentials and relearn the basics. You’ll be surprised with what you can live without.”
As seen on Modern Parenting: The 100 List Anniversary Print Issue available on OMG Newsstands on Lazada and Shopee. Digital copies are also available through Magzter, PressReader, Readly, and Zinio.
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