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Coping with Mental Illness

Post by : Hillary Musyoki

Mental illness is a disorder that affects your mood ,thinking and behavior.

How does one know if they are mentally fit or not?. For instance, how do you deal with the challenges that you face  in your everyday life?

Mental illness can occur in different ways; it might be when experiencing depression, anxiety or a deep sense of anguish, one may not know it.

Mental illness can make you miserable and cause problems in your daily life such as school life, normal life and also relationships. It leads to many bonds forms to wither away or get destroyed as one choses to stay alone and let mental illness take over.

In most cases, symptoms can be managed with the help of friends and family and also therapy helps as you get to talk to a professional.

Kenya is experiencing  a rapid increase of suicides , mental health condition and substance use which is an indication of social challenges unmet.

It is estimated that half of the mental disorders start by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 24. A quarter to half of the patients estimated by the Kenya ministry of health says many of them suffer from mental conditions irrespective of other conditions.

Preventing Mental Illness

Mental illness cannot be prevented but it can be controlled that is by, taking one step at a time. How can we control it:

  • Paying attention to your feelings -feelings can change depending on how on is. They can start when one is feeling happy then all over a sudden they sad or angry which is often termed as bipolar . If one is bipolar try to talk to a person or to mediate to keep yourself cam.
  • Take good care of yourself -sufficient sleep , healthy eating and regular physical activity is important.
  • Make time for friends- spending time alone sometimes id good and ok but at some point it is better to spend with friends and loved ones. spending time with them reduces the monotony of oneself.

Kenya’s Ed tech is developing an interactive mobile  based online program on mental health awareness the aim is to support the thriving population and to fight the stigma around mental health in Kenya.

Also read: Kenya Shines again as Rishi Sunak Becomes Britain’s Prime minister

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