Mental health deserves more attention than it's currently getting

It is a well-established fact that there are no mental health issues in Africa. And here is why putting “mental health” and “Africa” in the same sentence is just plain cuckoo.

Firstly, we don’t have time to worry about our state of mind when the state of our stomach is an immediate and pressing problem.

Guaranteeing three meals a day, the continuous reminders on the school fees balance and dodging your landlord’s calls are imminent crises that seem to recur month after month.

HIV, cancer, malaria – these are real diseases, unlike the invisible scourge that makes one quite literally go out of their mind.

And let’s face it, do you know anyone who is suffering from an unsound mind who is not in Mathari Hospital? Have you met anyone in your family or at your place of work who is so “depressed” that they are taking medication?

If you are still wondering what I am talking about, then probably you are either rolling in the Benjamins or some sort of celebrity or both. By this I mean Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Britney Spears, or Naomi Osaka, who recently took the decision to bow out of the French Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments citing the pressures of speaking to the media in the midst of a competition.

Genetically predisposed

You see, admitting to this sort of thing requires that you seek treatment – treatment of the talking variety where you pay someone thousands for an hour of their time to hear your problems... and not even provide a solution – for instance, a small loan, some counsel to your offending spouse, etc.

And if you suffer from extreme anxiety or depression, there is always someone from your myriad of relatives to talk to (or contribute harambee for a hospital bill). That is precisely why we don’t need these fancy psychiatric specialists and psychotherapists. Bollocks! All of the above is pure and utter nonsense.

The people who come up with this sort of stuff think Africans have lower levels of intelligence on account of our melanin, higher resistance to diseases based on Mandingo-like physiques, a happy-go-lucky attitude based on a simplistic approach to life and, of course, genetic predispositions to poverty. Mental illness can happen to anyone at any time.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mental health as the condition of being sound mentally and emotionally that is characterised by the absence of mental illness and by adequate adjustment especially as reflected in feeling comfortable about oneself, positive feelings about others, and the ability to meet the demands of daily life.

One could be genetically predisposed or it could be triggered by a situation such as extreme stress at work, post-natal depression from a recent birth and so on. 

There are very few research papers on mental health in Africa, in contrast to a preponderance and exponential number of citations on HIV/Aids , maternal health and tuberculosis. Plus not knowing is not evidence of non-existence.

Tragic circumstances

The reality is poor mental health can kill. The evidence seems to suggest that suicide rates are higher in some African capitals than in northern hemisphere geographies. From the workplace standpoint, stressors such as high job demands compounded by little control over results, economic insecurity and imbalance of work-family life can be as harmful as second-hand smoke. In the US, this costs the economy an estimated $180 billion (Sh18 trillion) and 120,000 deaths a year.

Covid-19 has caused a marked deterioration in mental wellbeing, with many of us having heightened anxieties on our very survival and prolonged isolation that exacerbates the condition.

Sadly, too, many Africans are the victims of tragic circumstances related to war and conflict, displacement, rape, torture and genocide.

Larry Mendoca, former senior chief economic adviser to the Governor of California, resigned citing a debilitating depression compounded by the long hours necessitated by the pandemic.

To quote this brave ex-McKinsey man: “What does it say about me that I have a mental health issue? It says that I am human.” 

I believe we all are human. Humans get sick. Mental health deserves a lot more attention than it currently gets. It is normal to get sick – physically and mentally.

The author is the Managing Partner of C.Suite Africa, a boutique management consultancy. [email protected]