Depression is real; let's take care of our mental health

The Monitor Editor | Wednesday December 3, 2025 09:19

It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it deserves.

During the Gaborone City Council (GCC) full council meeting yesterday, the mayor reported that they have intensified their suicide-prevention campaigns through expanded outreach through health screening, and referral services across the five constituencies.

This is indeed a commendable effort by GCC, which needs to be expanded to other parts of the country. The mayor informed councillors during a full council gathering that so far they have reached 351 people, with 52% found to have mild to moderate depression, whilst 25.6% showed signs of severe depression.

The statistics, whilst done with a very small sample, show that there is a cause for concern that campaigns relating to mental health need to be intensified.

Most importantly there is a need to raise awareness and educate parents on issues of mental health. The society needs to know that they can get help to deal with issues that may be too heavy for them. Batswana nowadays have coined a phrase ‘re imetswe as a country’ loosely translated as ‘we are carrying a heavy load as a country’. Some use this phrase carelessly, but this is a cry for help! Times have gotten hard, and almost each and every citizen can feel the toll.

Most households live from pay cheque to pay cheque and some are heavily indebted, which are some of the issues that bring about anxiety and a feeling of worthlessness. Parents need to pay particular attention to their children and observe changes in mood swings and most importantly parents need to listen to their children and seek help.

Asking for assistance is nothing to be ashamed of; it is actually the first step to taking care of their mental health and a very smart move indeed.

There is nothing wrong with seeking counselling when one feels the load they are carrying is too heavy for them. Elsewhere in this edition there is an article about a teacher who was found dead in a suspected suicide; this is just an example of the many cases that the police come across quite frequently. We need to take care of both our physical and mental health.