“Mental health refers to the mental or psychological wellness of someone. People do not understand or discuss mental health.”
- Ruth Juliet Lunkuse, Finance and Special Projects Director (DEI Embrace Foundation)
I spent three years going to various hospitals due to pain, ulcers and panic attacks, and non-conclusive tests. During my last panic attack I was taken to Nakasero Hospital, and the doctor suggested that my issue is psychological and referred me to doctor who started me on treatment to address the symptoms of mental illness. The treatment also involved talk therapy. I started having sessions with a psychiatrist who told me that the hardest pain I had dealt with since childhood was how my parents died. I had never dealt with the trauma. This was triggering all types of illnesses in my body. I met a friend from the church who was partnering with some people to start DEI Embrace Foundation to help people deal with mental health issues, I wanted to be a part of it. This is why I joined the DEI Embrace Foundation to help create awareness for mental health.
Most people in my network now see me as a stress reliever. I always make time to talk, listen, and offer counsel where possible. I do my best to find the right words and introduce them to the church counsellors when it is beyond my scope. At the Dei Embrace Foundation, we have One-on-One meetings to share personal challenges. This helps people connect and become friends, they discover that they are not alone, and the advice they get helps them to pull through the situation. Also, as a team, we become more innovative in resolving mental health challenges.
“People do not discuss mental health. They associate it with weakness, and poor upbringing. Sufferers are tagged mad, weirdos, or spoilt children.”
- Ruth Juliet Lunkuse
Eria is a senior six student who was considered a spoilt brat by his teachers and stubborn by his parents. He was brought to my home by his mother after he was suspended from school. She said he had no appetite, was always moody, and had already attempted suicide three times. I was their last hope.
When I talked to Eria he told me he wanted to punish his parents intensely, as they were not supportive. I suspected he was taking drugs because of how he spoke and behaved and he seemed underweight. I introduced him to a counsellor and shared my suspicions of his drug abuse with his mother. His mother refused to believe her son was on drugs until he collapsed at home due to a drug overdose and was rushed to the hospital. The hospital carried out tests and discovered that Eria was a drug addict. He was referred to a private rehabilitation facility in Bugolobi, where he remained for three months. He is now better, back at school as a day scholar, and his parents have become more supportive and involved in his life.
Comments