Mental Health is a global issue and youths have been identified to be the most vulnerable population to mental health disorders.
Youths are at high risk of mental health illnesses hence a reason why they should be given much attention and support on matters of mental health.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), one in seven 10 to 19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder globally and suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds.
Many youths are not aware of mental health support services. This has been also a contributing factor to why they succumb to depression, which eventually leads to many suicidal cases reported.
Speaking during the Mental Health Day 2022, held at Moi University, Annex Campus, Lillian Okeyo, a psychologist said that many youths are brought up in an environment that does not allow them to differentiate stress from depression.
Many of them come from families that treat stress as a normal experience that anyone can overcome.
“Most youths do not access mental health services because they think you have to have certain symptoms for them to go and get mental health support. They take stress to be normal because most of them have been raised in situations where parents are experiencing stress so they are looking at it as something that is normal, which is not,’’ Lillian stated.
Relationships
Mental health illness in youths has also been linked to financial issues and relationships. Many of them have dreams of getting wealthy at a young age and when they realize they have not achieved anything for themselves, they get stressed out which pushes them to depression. Some of them engage in unhealthy relationships which end up affecting their mental stability.
Joy Mutongi, a chairperson of the unmasked club, a mental health awareness club in the university confessed that mental health is a vital issue in society, especially for young adults and most of these youths live in denial of the situation.
“Depression is the most popular mental health issue and apparently most of us young people go through that and we are unaware and sometimes we do not accept that we deny,’’ Mutongi said.
In her experience as a leader of a mental health awareness club, she has been receiving many cases of mental health issues from students. This has raised a concern and shows the need to provide safe spaces and environments that promote psychosocial support to youths.
“More counsellors are needed especially to universities and should not be low key. There should be segments that involve more counsellors for students and it will be eye-opening to everyone to experience being listened to,” she added.
Peer pressure
Some of the major conditions that contribute to mental health disorders include societal demands, peer pressure, lack of parental support, relationship issues, depression, anxiety and general stress.
There is a huge gap and more to be done towards reducing mental health issues. To reduce this gap, there is a need for more sensitization and the creation of mental health awareness. Youths are encouraged to speak out so as to be helped. Parents are also urged to take responsibility for guiding and supporting their children, especially those still in school.
However, it is important for people to understand that to a certain extent, stress is not normal and it’s important to seek help when you feel overwhelmed.
