Baron Geisler shares mental health struggles during lock-in tapings

Baron Geisler opened up about how he overcame his mental health struggles triggered by the current set-up of taping under the new normal.

He recounted how he dealt with depression during a lock-in taping for his latest drama on TV5, Di Na Muli.

“I had depression during the lock-in ng Di Na Muli. Buti na lang siya (Lander Vera Perez) ang naging roommate ko sa hotel. He just acted like my brother, and he sees me as his little brother,” he told The STAR.

Baron thanked his co-actor for being there for him and pushing him to work out to imbibe good vibes during filming.

“During the time I was depressed, he noticed. He said, ‘Tara, basketball tayo.’ Kuwentuhan lang. Idinaan niya sa kuwento, magandang kuwentuhan. Puro positive vibes hanggang makuha ko yung positive vibes.”

Baron plays a supporting role in the drama series which stars Julia Barretto, Marco Gumabao and Marco Gallo. It premiered last Sept. 19.

The bubble taping was so new to him that he had to adjust and didn’t even talk that much for three days on set. “Na-sepanx (separation anxiety), parang ganun. Nanibago ako sa structure ng new normal natin. We shot (the series) for one month, yung first seven days sa isang hotel.”

He had a tough time coping to a point that his wife had to accompany him for a week.

“Yun ang gusto ng Viva, isama si misis kahit saan (laughs). Pero baka bawas sa TF, joke! Di naman. Sa shoot, I think kelangan ko lang magkaroon ng… mas maging matapang, mas hulmahin yung confidence ko, with or without my wife on set. Fear, I should really pray, tanggalin yung fear,” said Baron and thanked Viva, which co-produced the series, for allowing him to be with his wife.

“Unang una mahirap ang trabaho natin, bilang artista… tapos iindahin mo pa yung social media, yung mga taong nanamatay, tapos iindahin mo pa yung mga relatives mong na-COVID, tapos iindahin mo pa yung tao sa surroundings mo, so nagiging scattered brain ako, nawawala ang focus,” shared Baron.

From there, he decided to shift his thoughts on the things that matter and told himself, “So sabi ko, what should I do, why am I here, I should make things clear sa sarili ko. I am here to work for my baby and for my wife and for my family. Yun lang muna. Stop the social media, stop the other things that don’t matter, that don’t feed you.”

“Right now focus on your job, Baron. Focus on that, do well, don’t hurt anyone and I believe the next time around, things will go smoothly and hopefully, I learn from my mistakes,” he furthered.

The 39-year-old actor got married in 2019 to his Cebuana girlfriend, Jamie Evangelista, a psychologist whom he met at a rehabilitation center in Cebu.

Baron, who now considers Cebu as his home, fondly talked about what it’s like being married to a Cebuana. “Cebuanas don’t give a care about their bana’s (husband) BS. ‘Pag mali ang bana, they’re straightforward, they will tell you kaagad. So ang mga Cebuana, they have an alpha male attitude. They’re very strong women and that’s the kind of woman I really need siguro in my life kaya siguro binigay siya sa akin ng Diyos.”

He added, “But there are times that’s it’s too much, nasa fellowship kami, I tell my friends, I think she needs to be a little sweet, kasi napaka-independent ng mga Cebuana but pag naging sweet sila, overly sweet din naman. Kasi napaka-cerebral ng Cebuanas, they use both… sa Cebuano kung infatuation, infatuation, direct, if we’re gonna have sex lang, sex lang, if we’re gonna have a relationship, we’re gonna have a relationship. Kumbaga ‘hindi sila masyado double minded, napansin ko, even with the men.”

That’s why Baron “loves it there,” because “they know what they want, they’re very straightforward. Wala ng dilly-dallying, go straightforward.”

“Me, whenever I talk, sanay ako sometimes showbiz, I dilly-dally, I beat around the bush. She just says, ‘Can you stop with the BS and go straight to the point Baron?’ I get shocked na parang this is how I explain things, dito ako nasanay... She could also trigger me and also help me with my recovery,” he shared.

It was in 2012 when Baron first revealed that he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, which causes severe depression. Asked for any advice on how people can help those suffering from depression, he said he’d rather speak for himself as a person going through that battle.

“To tell you the truth, I really cannot give advice. I will just speak for myself through experience. Lander was very generous and kind. He showed kindness to everyone. He was always smiling and he had this outlook in life, look good, do good, feel good. Even if I was spiritual already noong time na yun, siguro what I lacked was I had that false humility na I’m nice, I’m like this. I have so many character defects pa rin pala that need to be fixed,” he recalled.

Nevertheless, Baron emphasized kindness and compassion during this time of pandemic. “But in times of this pandemic, kahit nasa bubble ka sa taping, I think just a simple act of kindness, a simple gesture or nice word… Well, to put it simply, be compassionate and mindful of your surroundings, and the energy, it’s so magnetic…”

“That positive energy to the point na, from Lander’s point of view, this energy, ipinasa niya sa akin at naipasa ko sa iba, hanggang sa nabuksan yung puso ko na na-enjoy ko yung buong proseso ng shoot and it became a lot easier for me to work,” he added.

Lastly, let go of your worries. “Stop worrying because worrying is like sitting on a rocking chair, going back and forth, yes, you’re moving but you’re not going anywhere. So I think what we did then, I was worrying and he (Lander) shared his hand… ‘let’s play basketball. Let’s do something positive.’ Hanggang naging routine na namin yan for three weeks. And I lost a couple of pounds also.”

Di Na Muli airs Saturday nights at 8 on TV5, Sari Sari on Cignal TV Ch. 3 and SatLite Ch. 30, and on Live and On-Demand via Cignal Play app.

Baron Geisler shares mental health struggles during lock-in tapings

Charmie

Baron Geisler opened up about how he overcame his mental health struggles triggered by the current set-up of taping under the new normal.

He recounted how he dealt with depression during a lock-in taping for his latest drama on TV5, Di Na Muli.

“I had depression during the lock-in ng Di Na Muli. Buti na lang siya (Lander Vera Perez) ang naging roommate ko sa hotel. He just acted like my brother, and he sees me as his little brother,” he told The STAR.

Baron thanked his co-actor for being there for him and pushing him to work out to imbibe good vibes during filming.

“During the time I was depressed, he noticed. He said, ‘Tara, basketball tayo.’ Kuwentuhan lang. Idinaan niya sa kuwento, magandang kuwentuhan. Puro positive vibes hanggang makuha ko yung positive vibes.”

Baron plays a supporting role in the drama series which stars Julia Barretto, Marco Gumabao and Marco Gallo. It premiered last Sept. 19.

The bubble taping was so new to him that he had to adjust and didn’t even talk that much for three days on set. “Na-sepanx (separation anxiety), parang ganun. Nanibago ako sa structure ng new normal natin. We shot (the series) for one month, yung first seven days sa isang hotel.”

He had a tough time coping to a point that his wife had to accompany him for a week.

“Yun ang gusto ng Viva, isama si misis kahit saan (laughs). Pero baka bawas sa TF, joke! Di naman. Sa shoot, I think kelangan ko lang magkaroon ng… mas maging matapang, mas hulmahin yung confidence ko, with or without my wife on set. Fear, I should really pray, tanggalin yung fear,” said Baron and thanked Viva, which co-produced the series, for allowing him to be with his wife.

“Unang una mahirap ang trabaho natin, bilang artista… tapos iindahin mo pa yung social media, yung mga taong nanamatay, tapos iindahin mo pa yung mga relatives mong na-COVID, tapos iindahin mo pa yung tao sa surroundings mo, so nagiging scattered brain ako, nawawala ang focus,” shared Baron.

From there, he decided to shift his thoughts on the things that matter and told himself, “So sabi ko, what should I do, why am I here, I should make things clear sa sarili ko. I am here to work for my baby and for my wife and for my family. Yun lang muna. Stop the social media, stop the other things that don’t matter, that don’t feed you.”

“Right now focus on your job, Baron. Focus on that, do well, don’t hurt anyone and I believe the next time around, things will go smoothly and hopefully, I learn from my mistakes,” he furthered.

The 39-year-old actor got married in 2019 to his Cebuana girlfriend, Jamie Evangelista, a psychologist whom he met at a rehabilitation center in Cebu.

Baron, who now considers Cebu as his home, fondly talked about what it’s like being married to a Cebuana. “Cebuanas don’t give a care about their bana’s (husband) BS. ‘Pag mali ang bana, they’re straightforward, they will tell you kaagad. So ang mga Cebuana, they have an alpha male attitude. They’re very strong women and that’s the kind of woman I really need siguro in my life kaya siguro binigay siya sa akin ng Diyos.”

He added, “But there are times that’s it’s too much, nasa fellowship kami, I tell my friends, I think she needs to be a little sweet, kasi napaka-independent ng mga Cebuana but pag naging sweet sila, overly sweet din naman. Kasi napaka-cerebral ng Cebuanas, they use both… sa Cebuano kung infatuation, infatuation, direct, if we’re gonna have sex lang, sex lang, if we’re gonna have a relationship, we’re gonna have a relationship. Kumbaga ‘hindi sila masyado double minded, napansin ko, even with the men.”

That’s why Baron “loves it there,” because “they know what they want, they’re very straightforward. Wala ng dilly-dallying, go straightforward.”

“Me, whenever I talk, sanay ako sometimes showbiz, I dilly-dally, I beat around the bush. She just says, ‘Can you stop with the BS and go straight to the point Baron?’ I get shocked na parang this is how I explain things, dito ako nasanay... She could also trigger me and also help me with my recovery,” he shared.

It was in 2012 when Baron first revealed that he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, which causes severe depression. Asked for any advice on how people can help those suffering from depression, he said he’d rather speak for himself as a person going through that battle.

“To tell you the truth, I really cannot give advice. I will just speak for myself through experience. Lander was very generous and kind. He showed kindness to everyone. He was always smiling and he had this outlook in life, look good, do good, feel good. Even if I was spiritual already noong time na yun, siguro what I lacked was I had that false humility na I’m nice, I’m like this. I have so many character defects pa rin pala that need to be fixed,” he recalled.

Nevertheless, Baron emphasized kindness and compassion during this time of pandemic. “But in times of this pandemic, kahit nasa bubble ka sa taping, I think just a simple act of kindness, a simple gesture or nice word… Well, to put it simply, be compassionate and mindful of your surroundings, and the energy, it’s so magnetic…”

“That positive energy to the point na, from Lander’s point of view, this energy, ipinasa niya sa akin at naipasa ko sa iba, hanggang sa nabuksan yung puso ko na na-enjoy ko yung buong proseso ng shoot and it became a lot easier for me to work,” he added.

Lastly, let go of your worries. “Stop worrying because worrying is like sitting on a rocking chair, going back and forth, yes, you’re moving but you’re not going anywhere. So I think what we did then, I was worrying and he (Lander) shared his hand… ‘let’s play basketball. Let’s do something positive.’ Hanggang naging routine na namin yan for three weeks. And I lost a couple of pounds also.”

Di Na Muli airs Saturday nights at 8 on TV5, Sari Sari on Cignal TV Ch. 3 and SatLite Ch. 30, and on Live and On-Demand via Cignal Play app.