By: Richie Richards
Worth Noting:
- It is not normal to have suicidal thoughts. It is not normal either to have thoughts of killing someone else. You have a mental health issue, and suicidal thoughts or hurting others is a major symptom. You need to seek help. We are living in strange times.
- The cost of living is high; fuel prices are unbearable; electricity prices are skyrocketing daily, and maize flour is becoming a piece of gold. Relationships have become difficult to maintain. People do not know how to entertain their lovers; how to love; how to soothe; how to apologize; and how to forgive. It is ‘character development after character development.’
Why do people commit suicide? Have you ever had suicidal thoughts? More than 800,000 suicide cases are recorded each year globally. Fortunately, or unfortunately, 75% of these cases happen in middle and low-income countries. Kenya is placed at position 114 with the highest suicide cases worldwide. Cases of suicide have been on the rise in the last two years. It is not once or twice a month you have watched in the news that a mother killed her children before taking her life or a father swiped away the whole family before coming suicide.
In my neighbourhood, a man walked into his house, killed his wife and welcomed the daughter to see her mother’s body. He planned to kill her before she pleaded with him and succeeded in running away. He did not manage to take his life because neighbours rescued him before taking him to Kasarani police station. These are the stories in our news today.
Like it or not, mental health is not just a health problem but a sociological issue impacted by a series of challenges ranging from cultural, political and economic forces. Let me get back to my second question, have you ever considered taking your life? I know a significant number said yes. Because you think it is natural or you were troubled you thought it was normal.
It is not normal to have suicidal thoughts. It is not normal either to have thoughts of killing someone else. You have a mental health issue, and suicidal thoughts or hurting others is a major symptom. You need to seek help. We are living in strange times.
The cost of living is high; fuel prices are unbearable; electricity prices are skyrocketing daily, and maize flour is becoming a piece of gold. Relationships have become difficult to maintain. People do not know how to entertain their lovers; how to love; how to soothe; how to apologize; and how to forgive. It is ‘character development after character development.’
Dealing with the mental health issue.
However, we only need to reinvent ourselves into reality. Alcoholism, use of drugs and substances and illicit sex cannot cure your socioeconomic problems. You need to seek help and not submit to debauchery or social fragility.
Trust me, the problem you are having will escalate further if you submit to alcoholism or illicit sex or substance use. For a boy child, do not submit to what society has always wanted you to be, “be strong because you a man.” I say, no, you are not. You are not the man when you are sick. Do not absorb so many social uncertainties, pressure and burdensome when you are hurting because you are a man or because society wants you to be strong.
You do not have to live up to anyone’s expectations. You do not owe anyone anything. It is only appropriate to give up on that job if it is stressing you. It is only wise to give up on that business if you feel depressed or you cannot take it anymore. You do not have to bend to the last of your elastic limit. If that job or relationship has stressed you that you have experienced major changes in your sleep patterns, lost appetite, low energy level, you cannot concentrate on anything else, lowered self-esteem, or act tensed all time.
It is time to call it a quit. Your mental health is your wealth. Remember, suicidal thought is a major symptom that arises when all these symptoms converge, and you begin losing hope of living because your self-esteem is very low that you think you are useless.
You are not that strong to endure all this alone. Seek help. Why strain when someone is offering a helping hand? My grandfather tells me, “a cow is praised had a lot of milk after dying.” Of course, your employer, lover and society will praise you in your funeral.
But it will be too late for that. Seek help. You are not crazy for all the negative thoughts you have experienced; you are just sick and need help. You are not cursed or bewitched. Mental illness is a health issue like Malaria or any other health problem you know, and it can be cured. You will not be admitted to Mathare for seeking help. Seek help before you actualize that stubborn suicidal thought. There is no hero’s play when the outcome is death.
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