Musician Nana Nyadia. PHOTO/HANDOUT
Many young people growing up struggle with challenges such as school grades, teenage love relationships, bullying which takes a toll on their mental health.
Being young, they do not open up to their elders or seek any professional help, which makes some of them die by suicide.
Last week, the world celebrated Mental Health Day under the theme “It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace.”
Nana Nyadia, a young woman, passionate about music, tells a story of how her mental health challenges birthed her music career.
Nyadia, a 23-year-old student at Isbat University, pursuing Graphics and Design, says challenges started in 2022, when she was in Senior Five.
She fell in love with a young man but later things did not go as she hoped that led to their breakup.
"I could not take it. I cried. I was broken when he ended the relationship without any reason. That is when I started contemplating suicide," Nyadia says.
She adds: "I would stand at the balcony of one of the buildings in my school and say to myself let me just throw myself down and this will be over. But then I thought about my parents, and how they would feel. So, I would stop in my tracks and abandon my plans."
Nyadia says writing a song about this heartbreak healed her.
"Sad Song is the title of the song that healed me,” she reveals adding that while writing this song, she poured out her heart and pain.
“Surprisingly, I did not receive any professional counselling, I healed on my own," Nyadia says.
The student goes ahead to narrate how she used to get bad grades and was afraid of how her parents would react, which also took a toll on her mental health.
"When I would get bad grades, I used to cut myself with a razor blade. I was so scared of my parents judging or scolding me. Whenever I cut myself, I would feel pain and later relief," Nyadia shares.
After Sad Song, she has since written more songs, most of which are from the mental health challenges she has gone through. Music is now her therapy.
Why mental health matters
World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as the state of wellbeing and how well you are in order to cope with the situations of life, which is not static as it keeps changing.
Dr Henry Nsubuga, the director of the Counselling and Guidance Centre at Makerere University, while speaking to youth during World Mental Health Day celebrations organised by Awesome Mind Speaks, in Kampala, said we should make mental health a community matter.
Dr Nsubuga reasoned that when the community you are living in is healthy, then you as a person will also be healthy physically and mentally.
"If the community is contagious, then it will affect your mental health. So what are you doing to make a difference? Every one of us, go back to where you are. How mentally healthy is your community? How mentally healthy is the guy who brought you here? How mentally healthy is the person who sits in your office? Are you mindful of that?" Dr Nsubuga said.
Dr Nsubuga emphasised the aspect of seeking counselling as one of the solutions to mental health challenges.
"I could be down, but it does not mean that because I am a therapist, I do not get down emotionally. So, we go for counselling because we want to improve. It could be procrastination, it could be anger management, and you want to improve in that. It could be that you find it difficult to say no, and that's why you want to seek help," Dr Nsubuga said.
Young people worries
He named anxiety, stress, depression, eating disorders as some of the mental health challenges that people are struggling with.
D"Young people are mostly struggling with anxiety, they are anxious about the future, who they are going to marry, source of livelihood, social media messages also cause anxiety, which takes a toll on their mental health," Dr Nsubuga said.
Prossy Namirembe, a participant at the event, said she is passionate about persons with disability and the challenges they face in their everyday lives, so she endeavours to do anything to see that they better their lives.
"When I was at university, I learnt sign language to help a student with a hearing impairment whose interpreter was not available 24/7 and yet she was studying with able-bodied students," Namirembe narrated.
She added: "I was touched by her challenges and learnt sign language for her, I helped her through the university and we both finished and graduated. So, I always endeavour to make life better for others as a way of helping people tackle their mental health challenges."
Awareness
Esther Nakyanzi, an official from Awesome Mind Speaks, a youth-led organisation, which advocates for mental health among young people, said they are creating awareness among young people on mental health, ensuring inclusivity by including people with disabilities, doing outreaches in schools too as means of creating awareness on mental health.
"People do not take mental health seriously, so we are doing all in our means to create awareness about this issue. Many young people are engaging in unhealthy activities such as alcohol and drug abuse, which is dangerous for their mental health,” she explained.
Nakyanzi said some young people do not even know that they have mental health challenges, which is why her organisation is focusing on them and creating awareness about it.
Mental health challenges across the globe are a great concern.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Counselling Association show that an estimated 14 million Ugandans suffer from a form of mental disorder, with every 35 out of 100 battling mental health problems.
