OPEN Minds Kenya, is now registered in Kenya, under the following local Non Government Organiszation (NGO):
Womens’ Counseling Rehabilitation & Support Centre (WCRSC)
Registered Charity Number: OP.218/051/2009/0582/6251
http://www.wcrsckenya.wordpress.com
Already there are too many families in Kenya suffering from mental ill health as I speak. How many people do you know who are either depressed (the most common mental illness) or suffering from some other disorder or illness? How long are we going to carry on living in denial of the mental state of many Kenyans? What are we doing about it? What are YOU doing about it?
Two years ago, depression was already a crisis in Kenya. What can it possibly be like now? By 2030, depression alone is likely to be the second highest cause of disease, second only to HIV/AIDS. Mental disorders affect men and women almost equally. However, almost all studies show a higher prevalence of depression among women than men, with a ratio of between 1.5:1 and 2:1. (Baseline study on the situation and governance of mental health and development services in Kenya).
A research by the Africa Mental Health Foundation: Sucide and Depression among adult patients admitted in general medical facilities in Kenya led by Professor of Psychiatry David M Ndetei found that on average 1 out of 10 patients had suicidal symptoms more so in younger (14.5%) than the older people (8.0%) and in the more depressed. Read the full article on http://allafrica.com/stories/201210110178.html
We have all at one time or another been marginalized, discriminated against or made to feel like you do not below on this earth. Like other groups throughout history, people with a mental illness have experienced awful heartbreaking oppression and made to feel they don’t belong. What gives ANY ONE the right to treat others this way? Why do e tolerate it this archaic behavior in the 21st century, when people are meant to be more enlightened? We MUST NOT TOLERATE IT. Like any other physical illness, No one is immune to mental ill health. NOT You, or I.
By Standing Up for Mental Health, you’ll let others know:
Join our OPENING Minds To STAND UP for Mental Health campaign and eliminate the stigma of mental illness in Kenya. Live your life with an open mind and expect respect and acceptance from your fellow citizens.
OPEN Minds Kenya, is dedicating the rest of the month of May to breaking the stigma of Mental Ill Health, in preparation for World Mental Health Day, which takes place on 10 October 2015 of which the theme is “Dignity in Mental Health” .
Why Campaign
Already there are too many Kenyans suffering from mental ill health, especially depression, those suffering are not just those you see on the streets of Nairobi, and upcountry. There are many people like You and I, hiding away, because of shame in admitting we need help, because of the stigma. Until one day we reach a point of no return. Let us speak up ourselves and the many helpless, powerless, oppressed sufferers who cannot speak for themselves. Take the pledge and support Kenyan citizens.
I am aware that many people feel that nothing will ever be improved with just one small voice speaking out. Yet without that first voice, nothing will ever change. We also ask the media, especially television and radio, to support this drive, by portraying the right and fair messages on mental health.
How you can suppot this campaign.
There are three ways to support the campaign. We hope you can be involved in all three.
1. Tell us your personal story about mental health
2. Read and comment on the latest blogand personal stories about mental health stigma and discrimination from others (OPEN Minds, supporters and guest bloggers).
3. Display proudly our ‘campaign banner on your website, blog or social media profile. Let others know you stand up for change and encourage others to stand up for change and the ability to talk openly about mental health. Copy and paste directly from this blog (below). What’s to stop You? Do it now, there is no need to hide. Well done.
Mental Health Care Services in Kenya
Mental illness in Kenya is not treated with the same sense of urgency as physical illness, clearly seen by the lack of mental care services in Kenya. Having worked as a psychotherapist for the last 14 years in Kenya, I’ve come to realise that the majority of Kenyans suffering from mental ill health, are those stuck in the cycle of poverty, and those who aren’t caught in the cycle of poverty, still cannot afford to pay for private mental health care. With private mental care services ranging from 1000kshs to 10,000 per hour, I know for sure I couldn’t afford to get myself treatment.
There is a BIG need to develop appropriate, compassionate and accessible community mental health care for those suffering and support for their families.
For twelve years, Leah had always been a drinker, she just never realized that she had become a heavy drinker and dependant on alcohol. She never thought of herself as an alcoholic, because her drinking occurred within the confines of the ‘middle class’ home where she lived with her husband and three young children. She had a bunch of cars, her children were in private schools, and she looked ‘all right’. Problem was, she was slowly but surely dying.
The effects of a woman addicted to alcohol is extremely devastating. Not only on the family, but to te woman herself.
Although men are more likely to drink alcohol and drink in larger amounts, gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol, and take longer to break it down and remove it from their bodies (i.e., to metabolize it). In other words, upon drinking equal amounts, women have higher alcohol levels in their blood than men, and the immediate effects occur more quickly and last longer. These differences also make women more vulnerable to alcohol’s long-term effects on their health as follows:
Pregnancy: According to the American Pregnancy Association, drug abuse can make it harder for a woman to get pregnant but much easier to have a miscarriage or a baby with birth defects
Alcohol and Pregnancy : Women who drink alcohol while pregnant increase their risk of having a baby with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The most severe form is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) , which causes mental retardation and birth defects. FASD are completely preventable if a woman does not drink while pregnant or while she may become pregnant.
Research suggests that women who drink alcohol while pregnant are more likely to have a baby die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This risk substantially increases if a woman binge drinks during her first trimester of pregnancy.
The Risk of miscarriage is also increased if a woman drinks excessively during her first trimester of pregnancy.
The Menstrual Cycle: The menstrual cycle often becomes erratic or even stops altogether. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, cravings for the drug often rise and fall with a woman’s cycle while she is still having periods.
Early Menopause: A woman usually starts menopause at 45 to 55 years old. But according to “Drug Addiction Research & the Health of Women,” drug addiction can bring on early menopause in the forties and even thirties .
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Related Diseases: Women become addicted more quickly and develop substance abuse-related diseases sooner than men. This includes alcohol-related liver damage, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, anemia, malnutrition, and colorectal cancer.
Liver Disease: The risk of cirrhosis and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher for women than for men. According to “Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History,” women alcoholics die of cirrhosis sooner than men because their livers cannot process large quantities of alcohol.
Depression: According to The Canyon rehabilitation center, women often turn to drugs or alcohol as a means of coping with depression more so than men. However, the drugs and alcohol often make the depression much worse .
Impact on the Brain: Excessive drinking often results in memory loss and shrinkage of the brain. Research suggests that women are more vulnerable than men to the brain damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, and the damage tends to appear with shorter periods of excessive drinking for women than for men.
Impact on the Heart: Studies have shown that women who drink excessively are at increased risk for damage to the heart muscle than men even for women drinking at lower levels.
Cancer: Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast among women. The risk of breast cancer increases as alcohol use increases.
Ask Yourself: IS the cost of Your addiction to alcohol worth your family, friends and your health?
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/check-the-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/effects-on-the-body/alcohol-and-women
Whatever stage you are at, whatever form of addiction you are suffering from – help is available. Contact OPENMinds
I remember at the age of fourteen, wishing I could wave a magic wand that would zap me to a different planet or world, where I could become somebody else, because I hated my life and the person I was. This was when it all started. I felt I didn’t ‘fit in’, any where at all. Through primary school, I had been teased and bullied by children, who would tell me that I had ’big goggly eyes’ and ’fat legs’, and would ‘wheezed’ like a train, from being asthmatic. My asthma also left me feeling very vulnerable. Every time I had an attack , I believed I was going to die…..and I had very many attacks. To overcome my ‘ugliness and loneliness and to hide my fear of near ‘death experiences’ I excelled in sport and worked very hard in class. But the emotional scars from being teased and bullied were deeply ingrained in me….
I got accepted into one of the most prestigious girls boarding schools in Nairobi, where I met rich politician’s daughters and other extremely wealthy families. I didn’t fit into the ’whose who’s’ families, neither did I have the latest clothes or get picked up in the latest cars, or by drivers. I was a very ‘invisible’ teenager, only becoming became visible as I carried on hiding behind being good at sport and working hard in my classes and involvement with extracurricular activities. This feeling of being a ‘nobody’, who couldn’t even look at herself in the mirror, kept getting worse. In addition to which that feeling of not being ’acceptable’ to people, began to fill me up with anger, and even more hate for myself. I hadn’t a clue what was happening to me. It became a normal existence.
My emotions became buried deep inside, unwilling to be released. They became so deep that I was no longer sure what I was feeling, if anything at all, I became numb, confused, unsure of what the problem was. I was also being haunted by a dream, where kept on falling and falling and falling, in this deep black hole, which would end just before I hit the bottom. I was so scared of what was going on inside of me. And my withdrawals accompanied by my asthma attacks continued. At home when I wasn’t out in the midst of nature (this is where I found my peace), I was in the house….being a ’sulky’ child and being tormented by this emotional distress that I couldn’t understand, which I couldn’t explain to Mum and Dad, whom I knew loved me.
It was in this state of mind that I went to the USA for my university. The opportunity to run away from myself. My strategy for ‘survival’ and to be liked by people, was to be a ‘pleaser’, who couldn’t say ’no’, and whose needs were less important than others. Of course this opened me up to being abused. And I was.
The opportunity arose . A guy I had met off campus expressed an interest in me. Wow! Actually, that was the only reason I dated him for a period of about three months. One of my dearest friends (and still is), my house mate at the time, couldn’t stand the man, she saw through him, but she couldn’t tell me. Throughout this period, I actually couldn’t stand the guy….as a matter of fact, what I felt about him came very close to hate. Of course during this period of being with him, knowing how he was treating me, (emotionally and sexually abusive) made me hate myself even more…was I that desperate? Yes…I must have been, but couldn’t tear myself away.
One evening, I caught him cheating on me…I cannot begin to express what that did to me…I felt like someone had put a knife into my heart, into that deep black hole… I was once again falling and falling and falling….everything as a big blur. I haven’t any idea how I made it back to my home.
Following morning, as I was going home from campus, feeling so lonely, very low, ugly, dirty and numb, I saw a car driving towards me. I remember clearly thinking….there’s no point carrying on…what for?..Go on jump… Jump….I stopped. And the voice carried on. Jump. Jump. It was totally surreal. I put my bag down. The voices carried on tormenting me. I shook my head in a daze. Who was that telling me to jump….before I knew it, the car had passed. I believe my God had sent His angels to save me.
I don’t remember how I got home. The following week, one wonderful caring American Italian family, who had opened up their home and cared for many a foreign students, noticed all was not well with me at all. The husband and wife team were both into mental health, with one of them working at the student health center. The advised me on what to do. I went to the student health centre the following day and started my very first treatment for my depression.
The depression to date still comes and goes, however, I am aware when I am going downhill. I then call on God’s love and strength to keep me going in His joy. There is HOPE. Never give up.
OPEN Minds Kenya 
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