GYC Africa 2024 Conference: ONE

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GYC Africa

Mental Health

Rose Misati

Mental Health 1

Mental Health 2

I don't know who I might have interacted with before.

OK, we are going to talk about matters mental health.

Going to start to talk about mental health issues this morning.

Then we have another session in the afternoon.

And I would like to ask how many people know somebody who is living with a mental health condition or somebody who has suffered a mental health condition?

You know someone, maybe it's suicide, maybe depression, anxiety, you know someone?

How many people have suffered from a mental health condition at 1 time or another?

How many people in their families, they are caregivers?

Maybe a brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, auntie, you know, somebody, a family member.

I also know that there are some of us who may not have raised their hands because probably you do not know that what you've been struggling with is a mental health condition.

Statistics show that in Kenya, 1 out of 10 people have a mental health condition, 1 out of 10 people.

But the number of people who are able to even access medical care in Kenya is way below.

So the very people who are not even able to access medical care are the ones who need mental health services.

So when we talk about 1 out of 10, that is just the minority, that diagnosis is made among the minority who are able to access mental health conditions.

According to the World Health Organization, they say that in Kenya and other developing countries, the mental health gap is 80%.

Out of 10 people, only 2 can access mental health services, meaning they can access a counselor, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, whoever, only 2 out of 10 people.

So you can Imagine even when we are saying 1 out of 10, we're only talking of the 2 who are able to access mental health services.

And the ones who really need mental health services, they are not able to reach out and get the services.

So I want us to make this presentation very relatable, because sometimes we talk about mental health conditions and then you are thinking about those people who are mad, walking on the road, removing clothes.

And yet there are many of us who are living with mental health conditions undiagnosed and treated.

Even living with family members with mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated.

They continue suffering and even the families keep suffering.

Father, in the most wonderful name of Jesus, we thank you for this opportunity.

We pray that you may speak to us, for we are listening.

The Bible says in the book of Philippians, I know it's a very familiar text, Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 to, I will read to 7 now.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and your mind through Christ Jesus.

Paul was writing this to the Philippians and he was consciously aware, he was aware that the Philippians, Karibu, they are likely to experience anxiety.

And many of us could have suffered with anxiety at any 1 point or another, yet we didn't even know what it is that we are experiencing.

Like currently, there's so much happening in our country And I don't know how many people have found themselves anxious, like you don't know about tomorrow.

You know, you don't know what's going to happen.

Today, you are here, then tomorrow people are dying.

People are dying, maybe people you know, and you're asking yourself, will I really, like, will I be alive tomorrow?

I don't know that you've experienced that.

And then it's very, it happens sometimes, it can be very persistent.

So, but really what are mental health conditions?

Karibu, so that we can get to understand.

It's not like the way somebody says headache, stomachache.

We have the less severe, we have the more severe.

They range from anxiety, depression, panic disorder, eating disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar, schizoaffective.

On the extreme end, we have the most severe.

You know the ones you can say now somebody has lost touch with reality.

That is the extreme end, schizophrenia, bipolar, schizoaffective.

But then we have on this other end, anxiety, depression, panic disorder.

If we did a screening here, which I don't want to do because if I did and I told you you are depressed, I need to give you medical care here.

If we did a screening here, it's possible that some of us have been living with depression and we actually may think that it's normal or maybe with anxiety, panic, and we think it's normal.

So the mental illnesses affect your mood, your thinking, and your behavior, your mood, the way you feel.

Life cannot always be rainbow and roses and chocolate, but we were not created to be more sad than happy.

We were created to be more happy than sad.

So we need to have moments, more moments of happiness than moments of sadness.

But there are people who are generally negative, like in almost everything.

Sometimes you even dread being with them because you're like this dark cloud, you know, there's just a dark cloud.

So because maybe they are struggling with a mental health condition.

I'm not giving you the sign so that you can diagnose anyone, because people go to school for close to 10 years to be able to diagnose mental health conditions.

And it's not for you to use it on another person, but it's just for you to maybe focus inward.

I've said we were created to be more happy than sad.

But if you find that you're excessively sad, you have trouble sleeping, or you're tired most of the time.

Kuna watu amechoka tu, yani unapata mtu amechoka asubui, whatever, tired most of the time.

Strong feelings of anger or irritability.

There are people who excuse, they say, I am angry because I have a temper.

You know, you just think that it is normal that way.

Excessive worries or fears, excessive fears and worries.

You can also have people having suicidal thoughts.

Suicidal thoughts can even be like someone says, I just wish I could sleep and never wake up.

They may not be saying exactly like I want to die or kill myself, but somebody imagines like maybe if I can just be walking and this vehicle runs over me and I'm gone, you know.

They imagine like it's not that they really want to die, but the pain is so much they want it to be over.

There can be extreme mood swings, extreme mood swings.

1 moment somebody's happy, the next moment someone is sad and you really cannot explain why they're that way.

Hallucinations is whereby someone is seeing things that don't exist.

Like somebody can be telling you there's a demon, there's a demon, you know, I'm seeing demons.

And here now is where as Christians, sometimes you will find that people confuse these things a lot.

You know, like sometimes we are not even able to tell what is it, the difference between, it's demon possession and we'll talk about this.

It's demon possession, someone can see, Some people even say, I slept, I saw an angel, I saw what.

Series

Mental Health

Mental Health 1

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Personal Ministries

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1. Bible Marking Basics: How to Mark Your Bible for Sharing Truth

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Master Guide Skill Development

4. Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts

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Breakout Session 3

Cover Crops, Smother Crops, and Green Manures

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Breakout Session C

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11. Part 1 - Q & A with Jashkie (Josh & Jackie)

28m

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Sound Doctrine