Mental health is just as important as physical health. Just like taking care of physical health gives us the ability to move and play, taking care of our mental health gives us the chance to handle challenges that come our way. We can all join hands to raise awareness, save people’s lives and what is important most is that we try our best.
Mental Health can affect daily living, relationships, and physical health.
Conditions such as stress, depression, and anxiety can affect mental health and disrupt a person’s routine.
The rising cases of depression, suicide have raised a concern about the state of mental health among Ugandan and the youths in the Country. Mental health services are underscored and there is no or little money put in place to treat mental illness including the services are not put in place.
The recently passed Mental Health Bill 2014, estimates that 6.8 million Ugandans with various mental health challenges will be able to access treatment at a primary health center. However, the challenge is that this will only cater for the mentally disordered people leaving out the highest percentage of the youth who are faced with depression, stress, anxiety and bipolar thus they don’t receive treatment. Therefore the need to have meaningful conversation around what we need to do to ensure proper growth with a healthy mind and happy life is timely and important.
Suicide and substance abuse are on the rise. The largest number of admissions in the Alcohol and Drug Unit at the National Mental Referral hospital at Butabika are students from higher institutions of learning. Yet there are only a few rehab centres for treatment of the many youths suffering.
World Mental Health Awareness Week.
The World Mental Health Day takes place on 10th October every year and it’s when the World joins hands to support and express issues on Mental Health in our communities. There are events and campaigns called out to discuss the mental health and how to over come it. Dealing with Mental Health is not an easy issue but creating awareness is a good way to start.
In this article, we discuss what Mental Health is, describe the signs of mental health, factors that lead to mental health, and how to treat mental health at home to help us create awareness.
What is Mental Health?
“Mental Health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” World Health Organization,2018.
WHO emphasizes that Mental Health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living, and enjoy life.
They also stress the fact Mental health is vital concern for individuals, communities and the society they live in and it is their responsibility to promote, protect and restore mental health.
In February, 2021 , Uganda is cited to be among the top 6 African Countries with rates of depressive disorder 4.6% while 2.9% live with anxiety disorder. About 5.1% females and 3.6% males are affected.https://www.apa.org/
Signs of Mental Health Disorders.
Signs and symptoms of mental health can vary from person to person, depending from disorder circumstances and other factors. For example, multiple social,psychological and biological factors determine someone’s mental health.
Some of these signs include ,Change in feelings, loss of interest, for example, when you start drawing yourself away from friends, stop playing and the usual activities you do. Change in sleeping habits for insance sleeping too much or less than the normal pattern .
In addition, low energy is also a sign of mental health illness, the usual vibe is stolen and you get sad often, difficulty interacting with your peers, appetite or weight changes also lead to mental health disorder.
Do these signs sound familiar to you?The best way is to ask for help and get treatment when these signs and symptoms persist . A friend can help you, a family doctor or medical clinics can be of great help to completely treat Mental Health.
TREATMENT
There are various ways in which mental health can be treated and these vary from individual to individual, and what works for one person may not work for the other.
Some strategies or treatments are more successful in combination with others. A person living with a chronic mental disorder may choose different options at various stages in their life.
They further stated that an individual needs to work closely with a doctor who can help them identify their needs and provide them with suitable treatment.
These treatments include:
Talking therapy;
It is a good treatment, when you open up to a friend or family it helps you find answers to some of your problems. It helps you feel relieved and better.
Medication;
Some people use different types of medicine to treat Mental illness such as antidepressants,antipsychotics and anxiolytic drugs. Most of these drugs are prescribed and although they do not treat mental health disorders completely, they help reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Read to know about antidepressants medicine.
Self- health treatment;
A person with mental health disorder will need to change their lifestyles in order to facilitate their mental well being.
Such changes may include reducing or totally stopping the consumption of alcohol, and changing friends who they think is toxic. People may need to rest from work to resolve a mental problem, they may need to go on vacation to help them recover from Mental issues.
Someone suffering from anxiety, depression, stress may need just a relaxation, calm environment such as mindfulness, taking a deep breath and having enough sleep.
Having a support network, family conservation or friends is of great benefit for one to recover from mental illness.
Written by:
Maggie Olore