New Year, no new me though; I don’t do resolutions anymore because they always end up being short-lived. What I incorporated over the years is being more intentional in how I live life and setting goals because they make sense to me, not just for the sake of doing it.
One thing I have been trying since 2019 is being more thoughtful and compassionate of others. This is something I believe many people lack; especially when dealing with persons who suffer from mental health problems.
I recently watched a video which showed how cruel people can be; in the video, a man was attempting to hang and kill himself on a street pole. The people around him were taunting him to end his life and you could hear some of them say, “Kill yourself”. The fact that there is a recording of the man attempting suicide is disgusting in itself. The video takes a turn from bad to worse; as the man fails in his suicide attempt and falls from the pole, the crowd which was watching and taunting him proceeds to beat him up and you can hear him cry out, “Don’t kill me”.
The man pleading for his life is comical to some people who have shared the video commenting how ironic it is he is asking for his life to be spared yet he tried to kill himself. The person who shared the video with me was also laughing. I did not see the humour in the video; because there is absolutely nothing funny about being kicked at the lowest point in your life and suicide is not a joke.
Out of everyone in the entire crowd, not a single person bothered to try and save him and find out what he was going through. I wonder how he is doing after that cruel ordeal, I have not seen a follow-up conversation after the video was posted but I hope he gets the help that he needs.
I have heard people ridicule persons with mental health issues and they say “But even I am suffering, you don’t see me whining about it” or “Just get over it”. However, the truth is mental health problems are bigger than whining and someone suffering from it cannot just get over it, but many people choose not to understand this — refusing to see that everyone experiences life differently. In reality, each one of us is fighting some sort of demon whether we speak about it or not.
The statistics of mental health problems in Kenya are scary, the country is ranked “fourth in Africa with 1.9 million people suffering from depression (WHO Report, 2014)” and each day mental health issues in the country are increasing. These statistics should show us that mental health issues are not to be ridiculed. Especially if 1 out of 4 people in the world is suffering from some form of mental illness.
People suffering from mental health issues need our compassion and thoughtfulness by us:
- Listening to them
- Checking up on them
- Being non-judgmental
- And learning more about mental health
It may not cure their illness but it helps them know they are not alone and it helps reduce the stigma around mental health.
