Opinion: Mental health of our youth key to stability, security

 

I still remember when it happened to me - the terrifying fear, the deafening sound of my own heartbeat and the bewildering confusion.

I was suffering a panic attack, resulting from a long-term anxiety problem which I was scared to admit to myself – let alone anyone else. It had finally overwhelmed me. I turned to a cousin for help and was fortunate to get advice and support.

However, many young people in urban areas are not so lucky. The impact of mental illness is far worse on their lives, and Kenya should urgently address a rising crisis on mental illness.

National statistics show at least one in every four Kenyans will suffer from mental illness at one point in their lives, and that figure could be higher in urban slums. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29 year-olds in Kenya.

Kenya seems so caught up on the fast road to development that it has not stopped to look out for those left on the way side suffering from depression and other illnesses.

Exploding urbanisation and pressures of abject poverty can prove too much for many slum youths, especially the ones that dream big but fall short.

There is a real difference between temporary sadness, which we have all felt, and medical depression, which we do not own up to enough. Some I know who refuse the status quo and see their dreams shattered can fall into clinical forms of depression and anxiety.

And it can affect us all, even the rich and famous. There was Sisqo, an up-and-coming footballer who seemed destined for the fields of Europe, but sank into acute depression and stopped playing the beautiful game after suffering a series of setbacks and scams.

It is not just about us individually getting real but also about learning to support one another.

 We only need to think of the returning Vietnam vets coming home to the USA in the 1960s and 70s and remind ourselves how long it took for the society to acknowledge them.

We must then support the mentally ill young people. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – or PTSD - is now at least heard about in Kenya, though still not acknowledged and understood well enough. Take mob justice, which is all too common.

We have seen videos of brutal, extreme forms of retribution when crowds get out of control. It often happens in slums where the law can easily be discarded. We have Tweeted our outrage, but have we thought of this as the killing of a friend, a brother or a sister and the impact on those who have to live with that experience everyday?

Ghetto guys are portrayed as hardcore and tough but no one is immune to the impact of trauma and violence. In an urban ghetto you have to constantly watch your back because of the threat of violence whether it is domestic abuse, gang violence or sexual attacks.

The difference for young people in the slum is that there is no relief, no sanctuary and little sense of protection. A friend from Eastleigh, Abdi, was jailed and even there things happened to him he just would not share. That experience changed him forever and after coming out he had to leave Nairobi to find peace of mind.

The reality is when a slum youth gets cut in a fight or is found on the street sick, he will most likely get attention by well wishers. But there are a whole lot suffering in silence because we recognise the body more than the power of the mind, and stigmatise before we try to understand.

Kenya needs to recognise the impact of violence and mental illness on the youth who we are quick to criminalise and disregard. It is about time we started talking openly about mental illness.

Families and friends can be the first to help us face up to this mental health challenge.