Depression has become prevalent in the country in the recent past and according to psychiatrist and mental health advocate, Chitayi Murabula it is one of the biggest health problems facing people today because there are so many sources of stress yet people barely find time to relax and disengage.
Statistics have shown that suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people between the ages of 15-29 in developing countries.
“It’s worth noting that 75 per cent of the 800,000 people who die annually as a result of suicide come from lower and middle income countries,” said Dr Murabula.
Kenyans on Twitter have today joined hands to speak about the sad, silent killer and the stigma attached to mental health.
https://twitter.com/ItsBravin/status/1054668426638188547
Depression is different from the fluctuations in mood that people experience as a part of normal life. Temporary emotional responses to the challenges of everyday life do not constitute depression.#KOTLoyalsAgainstDepression
— NaiBlogger™ (@naiblogger) October 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/ItsJnShine/status/1054670532044644352
Sadness, feeling down, having a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities – these are symptoms familiar to all of us. But, if they persist and affect our life substantially, it may be depression #KOTLoyalsAgainstDepression
— NaiBlogger™ (@naiblogger) October 23, 2018
Mental health is one of the toughest battles you can face in your life ,not only because it can wreck havoc on your physical body as much as your mentality. The biggest problem of depression is that it's not spoken of enough #KOTLoyalsAgainstDepression
— That Classy Nurse (@MissKing254) October 23, 2018
#KOTLoyalsAgainstDepression I wish people could understand that the brain is the most important organ of our body. Just because you can't see mental illness like you could see a broken bone, doesn't mean it's not as detrimental or devastating to a family or an individual.”
— That Classy Nurse (@MissKing254) October 23, 2018
According to Dr. Murambula, there are two causes of stress; organic and psychological causes. The organic causes include illnesses such as diabetes, chronic heart conditions or medication for conditions such as epilepsy. On the other hand, psychological causes are associated with adversity in childhood such as physical or sexual abuse, war, losing a parent and adversity in adulthood e.g unemployment or loss of a job, property,imprisonment , marital and financial problems.
With only 88 psychiatrists in developing countries, the ratio stands at 1:420,000. Kenya has a long way to go as far as mental health is concerned. The key barriers to effective care include lack of resources, lack of trained health-care providers, and social stigma associated with mental disorders.