'' Hush Hush"

“HUSH….HUSH”

Why does mental health still feel like a taboo in Kenya? When I think about the notions and ideologies surrounding mental health, particularly in our Kenyan society, the words STIGMA and the words “hush hush” come to mind.

Well, we are now at a crossroads. We either have this discussion and heal, or continue to turn a blind eye and let it fester and completely kill our society as we know it.

A long time ago, probably before we began to clothe ourselves fully, humans had their own ways to ensure mental wellness. As people in this day and age, we have to have our own means to ensure we exhibit and experience mental wellness.

Understanding Holistic Wellness

When we look at holistic wellness, we are made up of mind, body, and soul/spirit. In order to operate from a point of balance, we have to ensure all 3 aspects of our being are taken care of and tended to.

The Rising Tide of Mental Health Challenges

In recent times, we have seen an increase in reports of suicides, while cases of anxiety and depression are on the rise in almost all age groups. Both the young and the old seem to be suffering from mental illnesses and a general lack of mental wellness.

The Stigma Barrier

The fear of being shunned, being laughed at, being gossiped about, losing opportunities, being labelled, being stigmatized, are among the many reasons many people do not seek help when they are struggling mentally. Most people cannot even admit to themselves, let alone other people, that they may think they need mental health support.

So much so that we cannot even tell the signs of when our mental health is deteriorating or suffering. We are that much detached from our minds that we do not know what a state of equilibrium or positivity looks like.

Where Do We Begin?

So I believe that’s where we need to begin.

We need to have avenues and information on how we all can better our mental health, thus contributing to our overall general wellness.

When one feels a sore throat coming along or has a recurring headache, the decision they often make is to go see a doctor who can then probably tell what is ailing the person and recommend methods to help them achieve healing and go back to experiencing physical/body wellness.

This is how I imagine our approach to mental health should be as a society.

From when we are young, we are taught what foods to eat to nourish our bodies.

It’s time we begin learning how to nourish our minds.

How to ensure we contribute to having a healthy mental state.

So, how do we begin? We begin by answering the questions: What is mental health? What is a healthy mental state? What is an unhealthy state of mind?

Maybe if we can answer just these three questions, we can have an idea of where we stand individually.

Then we can begin to address “How does one better their mental health, and when does someone seek professional help?”

Thereafter, we can delve deeper into “What is causing the upsurge in mental health issues all over the world and in our country, particularly?”

Here is a general explanation of what good and poor mental health are and what they look like according to Wikipedia:

Good mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. It means you are in a state of well-being where you feel good and function well in the world.

According to the World Health Organisation, good mental health is when you can:

• Cope with the normal stresses of life

• Learn and work productively

• Use your talents and abilities

• Contribute to the community

If you have good mental health, you might feel happy, confident, hopeful, and generally satisfied with life.

You are likely to feel connected to other people and to be making a contribution to society.

You might also have a sense of meaning or purpose and a feeling of being at peace.

You are more likely to have good mental health if:

• You are confident when you come across new situations or stresses

• You feel optimistic

• You do not always blame yourself

• You can set and achieve your goals

• You can stick to routines that are good for you, such as eating and sleeping well

• You can enjoy life even though you've had difficult experiences

This gives us an idea of what a healthy state of mind looks like.

Now let us go into how one recognizes that their mental health may be suffering.

The more ‘typical’ signs such as:

• Seeming ‘sad’

• Lacking energy

• Loss of interest in day-to-day life

• Withdrawn

• Negative thoughts

• Anxious

• Low self-esteem

But it can also be less ‘typical’ signs such as:

• Aggression

• Feeling full of energy

• Forgetfulness

• Sleeping too much or too little

• Eating too much or too little

• Having strict habits or routines around food

Just because someone may be showing one or more signs of the above does not mean that they are experiencing poor mental health but that they could be.

All of these are to be compared to the person’s ‘normal’ behavior, e.g. a person sleeping 10+ hours aren’t unusual if the person normally sleeps for longer periods, whereas it would be unusual for a person who normally only sleeps 6 hours or less.

If we identify these changes in an individual, then remember:

• Treat the person respectfully, they may not want to talk immediately, this is fine, we may need to come back at another point (if it is not safe to leave the person, contact emergency help)

• You are not a mental health professional, and therefore, you do not provide a diagnosis or counselling. You can signpost the person to find appropriate support if they wish.

• Be an active listener, make sure you don’t try to find a solution to their problems, but act in an empathic manner and avoid unhelpful phrases such as ‘ I know what you are going through’, ‘ it could be worse’, at least you have …

• Try to signpost the individual to a mental health first aider if they are available.

If one also recognizes these signs in themselves, they can reach out to someone for support. This will definitely give us a clear picture of what is ideal and when we should be more alert about our mental wellbeing.

Our goal at the mental health department of Tech Sisters Kenya is to make the discussions around mental health the norm. With as much ease as we discuss politics, gossip, money, and spiritual matters, we should be able to have conversations surrounding mental health with such ease that the words STIGMA and “hush hush” aren’t what come to mind when we hear the term mental health.

Murugi Kahoro
Mental Health Coordinator
Tech Sisters Kenya