{"id":34888,"date":"2021-09-10T15:56:26","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T15:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?p=34888"},"modified":"2021-09-10T15:02:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T15:02:40","slug":"unravelling-the-mental-health-crisis-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/unravelling-the-mental-health-crisis-in-kenya","title":{"rendered":"Unravelling the Mental Health Crisis in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Kenya<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>A look at the pandemic and its adverse effects on mental health.<\/p>\n

In a country ravaged for decades by Malaria, HIV\/AIDS, bad governance and poverty, we have found it of little importance to discuss the rather pervasive effects of mental health disorders. However, a more recent pandemic, Covid -19, has forced a very intransigent African society to re-look this poor state of affairs.<\/p>\n

Mental health, as defined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services is our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps to determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Kenya joined the world in observing World Mental Health Day on October 7, and the theme for that year was: Mental Health in the Workplace. At this point, research showed that 1 in 4 adults would experience mental health difficulties, while 10% of the population had already taken time off work due to depression. This is in stark contrast to 2020 where a Mental Health Task Force formed at the behest of the President of the Republic of Kenya, urged the government to declare mental health a national emergency.<\/p>\n

Which begs the question: What changed?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rising number of mental health-related cases in the country, such as depression, and other mental illnesses have been a concern to the government,\u201d Mutahi Kagwe, the Cabinet Secretary Ministry for Health, said.<\/p>\n

Kenyans are \u2018wired\u2019 to put in hours in high-stress work environments from 9am \u2013 5pm, grab a pint at the local pub as a coping mechanism for the pent-up work-related anger and frustration, rinse and repeat the routine throughout the week.<\/p>\n

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic forced Kenya into a partial lockdown, the enforcement of curfews and opportunities to socialize were restricted.<\/p>\n

This, for a majority of Kenyans, was not only a drastic change but mental health stress and led to an increase in Gender-Based Violence cases by 36% as per the data from the Ministry of Public Service and Gender.<\/p>\n

It is, therefore, safe to infer a direct correlation between the pandemic and the rise in mental health-related issues, ceteris paribus.<\/p>\n

Based on the far-reaching effects of mental health, mental wellness can no longer be ignored as it is one of the key elements in maintaining robust social structures. The day-to-day struggles of putting clothes on our backs and food on the table will mean nothing once we are crippled both psychologically and physically by anxiety, depression, or a slew of other mental health-related issues.<\/p>\n

Now that we have an idea of what mental health is and problems associated with a lack of mental health wellness, we need to keep our eyes peeled for tell-tale signs of someone around us struggling with their mental health, albeit one can exhibit one or more obvious symptoms, others are much more obscure.<\/p>\n

Employers and insurance companies also have a moral obligation to allocate meaningful resources towards mental health wellness.<\/p>\n

Contributor: Emily Onyando<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. A look at the pandemic and its adverse effects on mental health. In a country ravaged for decades by Malaria, HIV\/AIDS, bad governance and poverty, we have found it of little importance to discuss the rather pervasive effects of mental health disorders. However, a more recent pandemic, Covid -19, has forced a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8,16],"tags":[6857,7003,544],"class_list":["post-34888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nUnravelling the Mental Health Crisis in Kenya - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A look at the pandemic and its adverse effects on mental health. 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