{"id":29908,"date":"2022-11-21T15:32:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T15:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt"},"modified":"2022-11-21T16:07:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T16:07:05","slug":"mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","title":{"rendered":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was propelled by the fact that she had to repeat a subject she had failed at school. More so, she had financial issues that worsened the situation- with that, she said it was hard for her to accommodate the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent days without talking to anyone and I couldn\u2019t eat well. That also aroused stomach ailments,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

During those \u2018harsh\u2019 days, as a teenager, Berwadushime also considered herself a failure and felt like she couldn\u2019t do anything good.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart was heavy, but after some days, it was relieved. Still in a self-judgemental mood, I called my mother and informed her about what I was passing through. She said: that is not the end of the world. Don\u2019t worry, you can start again. Don\u2019t base on a single subject you failed and keep feeling bad; there are others you passed,\u201d she heartened.<\/p>\n

Berwadushime asserts that those words from a loved one compelled her to escape her situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started eating and stopped being antisocial. I also managed to smile at other students unlike before; I didn\u2019t feel like I had a reason to. I got the courage to repeat the subject and eventually succeeded,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Berwadushime says her mother usually helps whenever she opens up about anything perturbing her, expounding that she soothes her and tells her funny stories that make her feel that she is not alone and that there is more to life.<\/p>\n

She is however aware that the situation is not the same in different Rwandan families.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome parents have a way they worry much about their children, making the situation more stressful for them. That makes teenagers decide to keep things to themselves, along with having family members who do not understand or stigmatise their emotions,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13 per cent of the global burden of the disease in this age group.<\/p>\n

Recently, Ndera Neuro-Psychiatric Teaching Hospital, the largest in Rwanda, reported that it had received 7,817 patients battling depression of which children under the age of 19 represented 20 per cent.<\/p>\n

According to the USA\u2019s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, when a family member is experiencing a mental disorder, it can affect more than just the person in need of recovery.<\/p>\n

Evidence has shown that some people have a genetic predisposition for developing mental disorders, and may be at greater risk based on environmental factors such as having grown up in a home affected by a family member\u2019s mental health or history of substance use.<\/p>\n

\u2018Create a safe environment for teenagers\u2019<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Niyishaka, Berwadushime\u2019s mother, says that in order to help her daughter or any child when they are sad or worried about certain things, the first thing is to understand them and the root cause of the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou first have to understand them,\u201d she said, \u201ceven if your daughter has made a mistake, you don\u2019t have to focus on showing her that she is a wrongdoer or careless. You have to avoid mentioning that she is the cause of what happened to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, ask her what happened, tell her that God has good plans for her and that the incident doesn\u2019t mark the end of her life. You then advise her according to what she tells you and lead her in a path that prevents her from falling into the same mistake again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Niyishaka also urges fellow parents to habitually converse with their children and make them their friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a parent and do not converse with your child, their mental health issue is likely to have started from you. When you converse with a child in a friendly way, it makes her miss you and when she gets sad or is not okay in any way, you notice that and talk to her. That way, you are also able to understand her,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she is dealing with the crisis, you have to stay closer to her and routinely ask her how she is, hence strengthening the trust between you and her. You have to avoid disclosing her secrets to other people for that can destroy the trust, bearing in mind that she opted to tell you because she trusts you.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Mugambe, a professional mental health counsellor who founded Safe Place, an organisation that works toward securing a healed community, suggests that the family members of a teenager should first create a safe environment for them \u2013 something he said is fundamental if they really want to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should avoid body shaming them or telling them that they are weak; that they will never get anywhere as well as comparing them to children of other families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tackling how family members can help concerning things that happen to a teenager when he is not home and can result in a mental health crisis, he declared that being accommodative to their emotions can be key.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you do that,\u201d he continued, \u201clet\u2019s say, a young girl in your family has been raped, instead of keeping quiet about things that are eating her up, she knows that if she tells you, she will be able to get help because she sees you as someone she can trust with her emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mugambe adds that in case the teenager has shared something that requires professional understanding or help, a family member must interest them in seeking help, letting them know that it\u2019s okay to do so by being understanding and employing non-judgmental words.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are supposed to have the right wording when you are interesting a teenager to seek professional help. For instance, if a teenage girl tells you that she fell in love with a boy and got heartbroken and then you dwell so much on why she fell in love in the first place, you are missing the fact that one day, the emotions concerning that might take her out of your hands. She might end up in a bar, stressed, or even dead. You have to instead dwell on how you can help her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our society, some people are quick to judge and disown when someone falls short or has done something that has drowned them into a mental illness. We should instead be more accommodating, validating and accepting. When we do that, we will be creating an environment that helps our teenagers to open up about their mental health issues before we can lose them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was propelled by the fact that she had to repeat a subject she had failed at school. More so, she had financial issues that worsened the situation- with that, she said it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":29907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-29908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nMental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\"},\"wordCount\":1136,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\",\"name\":\"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":560,\"caption\":\"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt - Rwanda","description":"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt","og_description":"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":560,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt","datePublished":"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt"},"wordCount":1136,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Rwanda","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt","name":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg","datePublished":"2022-11-21T15:32:37+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-21T16:07:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"In 2018, Lise Berwadushime had a mental health crisis that evoked changes in her moods and behaviours. She says it was p ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_1669032162.69.jpg","width":1000,"height":560,"caption":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mental-health-how-one-mother-helped-her-teen-daughter-overcome-self-doubt#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mental health: How one mother helped her teen daughter overcome self-doubt"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}