What ails Heart and things she's willing to give up now

HAVE you heard of the so called Burning Tongue Syndrome? Well, if you haven’t, Heart Evangelista confessed that she got afflicted with it due to anxiety. In an interview with GMA-7’s Jessica Soho, she shared that the lockdown caused her this and it manifested on her body. 

“In the beginning, siyempre it's quite normal for you to be a bit antsy and anxious. I mean, I suffer a lot from anxiety,” she says. “But you know I've been painting a lot and I've been keeping myself busy. Yes, I'm very expressive with my painting. I still dress up. I still put accessories on. Mainly as an artist, I like to wear colors. I like to see colors, and it really helps my mood lighten up my mood.” 

Jessica asked her what problems trigger her anxiety attacks? “Dati, 'yon din 'yung tinatanong ko sa mga ibang nakikita ko. Nasa kanila na lahat. Private jet, they have buildings, pero bakit meron silang pinagdaraanang sadness? When I lost my babies in a miscarriage, I had a slight depression. Nag-manifest siya sa katawan ko. Naging numb 'yung mga paa ko, pati 'yung kamay ko na I used sa pag-paint. It's called the Burning Tongue Syndrome. Basically, people just live with this condition na parang nasusunog 'yung bibig mo. Tapos minsan, kumakalat siya sa gums, and it's very painful.”

The doctors diagnosed that it’s caused by extreme anxiety.  “I went to seven doctors. Sabi nila, 'yung cause is extreme anxiety and it manifests on your body dahil sa sobrang stress.  Without me knowing, 'yung pressure din ng social media, 'yung pressure ng tao na kailangan lagi kang maganda, kailangan lagi kang nauuna. Although hindi naman ako super gano'n, siguro subconsciously, minsan 'pag may mga nasasabi tungkol sa'yo, akala mo hindi ka naaapektuhan but then, it affects you pala and nagpa-pile up siya."

Despite this syndrome, she has managed to help a lot of people with money coming from her own pocket since the lockdown started. 

“It’s something I felt I have to do. Kung minsan nga, nakukulangan ako and I feel guilty. A lot of people are hard up at ang dami asking for financial help, pambili ng gamot, pambili ng pagkain, kailangan ng pan-dialysis, o for cancer treatment, o namatayan, kailangan ng pang-cremate. I really wish I could help everyone but let’s face it, during the lockdown, wala akong income kasi wala kaming tapings or shows. But people don’t seem to understand na hindi basta nanggagaling lang sa balon ang pera ko. Galing po ito sa pagtatrabaho ko at hindi siya endless. Wala naman po akong sariling fundraising like other stars do, kasi my husband is a politician and ayokong mabigyan ito ng ibang kulay, so talagang galing sa sarili kong ipon ang lahat ng ipinantutulong ko.”

There are times she felt she should have saved more before for the pandemic. “Kasi noon, magastos talaga ako because of my love for high fashion. So now, may realization akong dapat pala, I didn’t splurge in certain things para mas marami akong natutulungan ngayong may crisis. I can’t do it all by myself so I encourage others to extend help sa mga naghihirap nating kababayan in this time of the pandemic.”