Seeking counselling is not sign of weakness

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday September 1, 2026 10:59

Unfortunately, in this part of the world, it is very rare for individuals to mind their mental health. This does not start today, and sadly, even children with certain mental health challenges get the stick regularly instead of proper diagnosis and professional assistance. Counselling, just like going for physical examinations, is very necessary for general well-being. Many Batswana are dealing with different challenges. These difficulties can render them dysfunctional in one way or the other while throwing them into deep depression that may be even harder to get out of.

We are often dismissive of seeking counselling services until the situation spirals out of control. Many situations can lead to depression, including loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, loneliness and rejection amongst others.

These issues can often drive someone to feel worthless and end up believing that life is not worth living.

In recent years, we have seen suicide cases increasing across all different age brackets! In this issue alone, there are two reports of suicide and one report of suspected murder suicide.

While there were no suicide notes in any of the cases, there is something that triggered the three men to take their own lives! These deaths could have possibly been avoided with proper professional assistance. Of these three cases, one is suspected to be a murder-suicide, something which sadly is becoming a common occurrence.

We as Africans have never been taught to take care of our mental well-being, and have in most cases been scolded for crying or showing certain emotions.

Crying in many African cultures is viewed as weakness, and as such, most of us end up bottling things inside to avoid being labelled as a weakling.

Most of us do not know how to handle rejection. Rejection usually wounds people’s egos and brings a feeling of insecurity to the one who has been rejected. It is painful, but there are several ways to deal with rejection, and we have to accept it as part of life.

As a human being you cannot like or agree with everything that happens around you. There are instances where one wouldn’t agree with. As such, they will at some point in time have to tell someone in one's life that there is something that they are doing that one does not like! Yes, how you present the issue matters a lot.

A woman cannot be expected to fall in love with every suitor who comes their way, and equally a man also cannot be expected to love every woman who shows interest in them. There is bound to be rejection along the way.

Accepting rejection as part of life can help, but most importantly, it is very important to seek professional help once one realises that they cannot handle certain things happening to them. Let us normalise seeking help from professionals and prioritise our mental health as much as we prioritise our physical health.