Kenya was listed as the 6th most depressed nation in Africa according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO defines depression as a common mental disorder characterized by persistent sadness and loss of interest in activities you normally enjoy accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for at least two weeks.
From losing appetite, sleep, to significant weight loss, depression has signs and symptoms which when identified earlier, can be treated.
Depression is linked to health disorders but the environment we live in dictates a bigger percentage of its genesis.
The rise in suicide cases in Kenya has proven that many youths live in depression.
Depression has been reported to affect everyone from different walks of life, the poor and the rich.
What could be the cause of depression in Kenyan youth aged 14-29?
Here are some of the causes of depressions
- Family history
Depression can be running through the family genetics. For this, there is a
2. Personality
This is reported to be the high cause of depression. Having low self-esteem, rooted in perfection and triggered by criticism are the weakest points to depression.
3. Illness
Personal health can be the cause of depression. Series of illness can lead to poor health and overthinking of one’s future with no disease.
In Kenya, the report indicates that social media (Social status) is the main reason for depression in the youth.
Gaming and betting in Kenya have also contributed to the continuous suicide incidents.
Betting causes addiction which leads to depression. Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i on Monday suspended gaming companies for tax evasion but also criticized it for its advertisements.
In BLCB report, it indicates that about 76 percent of Kenyans are addicted to betting because of lack of employment.
Social media is another ‘monster’ that has ended lives of many youths.
Many of them have left behind suicide notes indicating the stressful life they experience.
90 percent of Instagram ‘beauties’ and those with thousands of likes do not lead a good life as they portray in the public.
Due to unemployment, youths will be forced to seek ‘sugar daddy’ and ‘sugar mummy’ to help their ‘low’ budget in order to impress their followers.
We live in a
As earlier stated, depression do not discriminate. On February this year, the son of the late Bomet MP, Kipkalya Kones, took his life and left a suicide letter to his family.
For one to reduce the level of depression, it is always important to consult a psychiatrist.
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