World Mental Health Day - A Reflection On

A few articles ago, we addressed suicide in our generation as one of the tells of mental health. The piece, “And Sometimes Taking up Space Hurts”, addressed the statistics of suicide in Botswana, and looks at how and why youth between 18 and 40 are the most affected by suicide. This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day was “Youth and Mental Health in a Changing World.”

The World Health Organisation has stated that there are many different mental health disorders with different presentations. These are usually characterised by a combination of abnormal thoughts, perceptions, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others. One of the keys to preventing mental health disorders and alleviate the suffering caused by them is access to health care and social services that can provide treatment and social support. This is largely absent in Botswana, with few pockets of good Samaritans.