How I mind my mental well-being

Mental health is a critical aspect of our everyday lives because it includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Studies suggest that it affects how we think, feel, thus, determining our happiness or unhappiness which in turn dictates how our whole life unfolds.
This fact underscores the importance of taking the utmost care of our mental health by cultivating a healthy attitude towards life and equipping ourselves to get through events, each time feeling stronger than before.

Mental health
According to the World Health Organisaiton, mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution towards her or his community.
The state of your mind, which is a sum total of your biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry, life experiences, such as trauma or abuse and family history of mental health problems, determines your overall success or failure.
Research shows that there are many different mental health problems and some have similar symptoms, so you may experience the symptoms of more than one mental health problem, or be given several diagnoses at once.

Symptoms
Common symtoms include depression, anxiety, anger, addictions, postnatal depression, phobias, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), schizophrenia and bipolar disorder among others. The importance of taking proper care of our mental health cannot be overstated. Here, different women share how they keep themselves in top form.

Liz Kakooza
She was diagnosed with depression at age of 24, after struggling with this debilitating condition for more than half of her life. Struggling with depression did not stop Kakooza from succeeding.
The mother of one is a World Economic Global Shaper for Uganda, YALI Fellow 2017 and a LéO Africa Institute YELP Fellow. Kakooza decided to use her personal experience with depression to help others get timely intervention. She recalls that growing up, she was always filled with inexplicable anger, and cynicism and a deep sadness that always threatened to overwhelm her. “I would be feeling perfectly happy one minute and overwhelmed by sadness the next minute. Sometimes I was too sad or physically unwell to even get out of bed. Many people around me thought I was just lazy and pretending to be sick, just to stay in bed. My teachers thought I was just being moody and plain difficult. It reached an extent where my behavior could not be ignored and I had to be taken to hospital. Although I was in pain, the doctors said they could not find anything wrong with me. They advised my parents to take me for counselling,” Kakooza recollects.
Kakooza reveals that along the way, she started fighting addictions until she was forced to seek professional help again. This time, the doctors found out that her problem was depression and she started getting the proper treatment. “It is this diagnosis that saved my life. It is then that I realised that I was not just crazy. I was put on medication and went for counselling regularly. After a while, I woke up one morning and felt lighter and better than I had, in a very long time. I was ecstatic. It is amazing how much we always want to forget the bad times. I convinced myself that I had outgrown the illness and I could finally do the one thing I always longed to do- live a normal life,” she shares. Her celebration however, was temporary as a few months later, while on a course in the UK, she started experiencing pain again and was diagnosed with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), an inflammation of one or more of your joints-earlier in life. “The doctor informed me it was as a result of depression. Instead of despairing, I decided I would fight on. My biggest weapon was looking for all the small things I could be grateful for. I felt grateful that I, at least knew what was wrong with me, considering that thousands back home were struggling in ignorance and fear. This humbling realisation gave me a big purpose to empower others in my situation. And that is how The Tumaini Foundation was birthed,” she states.
Kakooza believes that changing perceptions about mental health will be a stepping stone to improve health care services in Uganda and that intensive awareness initiatives supported by institutions and government is the first step to addressing the stigma around mental health. “There is an urgent need to end the myth that mental health and addiction issues are caused or brought by cultural or spiritual influences. People need to know that mental health issues too have biological or scientific explanations behind them that traditional healers, spiritual leaders, will not be able to handle. Helping families understand that there is treatment or help for the numerous mental health issues out there and that they do not have to suffer in silence, is what we aim to do through the work I do,” Kakooza reveals.

Alice Nabatanzi
For Alice Nabatanzi, planning and balancing out work with leisure is what keeps her sane. “Balancing life is very vital. Most working people focus more on career than the bigger picture of complete life. I always make sure that after a long day’s work, there is a relaxing activity. Sometimes work gets too hectic to get a moment to rest, instead of adding pressure to myself to squeeze in free moments, just to focus on what is at hand and when it is done, I go for a vacation,” Nabatanzi shares. The lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology at the College of Natural Sciences, points out that most work stress is caused by skewed prioritising and she avoids it. “There are things that can wait and those that need immediate attention. Failure to realise which comes first will result into confusion, stress, blaming others and anger, which are very bad for your mental health,” she says. One of her priorities is having her “me time” where she engages in things she loves such as communing with nature, singing and meditating.
“I also use this time to make a clear strategy for my life by evaluating my performance, realising where I excelled and failed. I then make resolutions to take on a sport, adapt to that diet or anything else that needs to be done,” Nabatanzi shares.
According to Nabatanzi, positivity is an important quality that people should cultivate and guard fiercely. Being a positive person by nature, the don finds plenty of reasons to laugh off stress, but more so she avoids friends, neighbours, workmates and even relatives that carry negative energy with them. “This world is a beautiful place but wrong attitude and people can turn into hell,” she notes. For those moments when she feels low, Nabatanzi finds solace in her faith in God. “I love my God and for whatever reason, I do not hesitate to talk to Him, when I see a mountain or something seemingly hard before me. That is how I manage to sail through oceans, smoothly,” she reveals.
She cautions people to use phones carefully because they are very destructive and have created anxiety, broken relationships and broken marriages. “You will always be anxious if you spend all your life waiting for the next WhatsApp message, phone call or email. Discipline yourself or else the phone will take over your life and cost you your mental health,” she urges.

Noeline Kirabo
Noeline Kirabo notes that taking care of one’s mental health is a form of self-care that is often neglected in society. She points out that for instance, we would rather spend time doing activities we believe will benefit our relationships, our business and families than focus on bettering ourselves. “In the early stages after starting my first organisation, I worked over time and hardly got enough rest. This was coupled with the fact that I had been a leader for the bigger part of my secondary life so I had conditioned myself to be strong, macho, not to show emotions and to figure things out without having to ask for help. My biggest shift has been learning to be vulnerable. I had to learn that it is okay to be weak, to break down and to ask for help. I must say I am still learning,” Kirabo shares.
One of the practical steps she took was to get accountability partners that she could be vulnerable with. Currently, Kirabo has one regular accountability partner and two close friends she feels free to talk about things. This kind of sharing is part of the healing process and helps one release emotional stress. However, it is most effective if the person receives the adequate support needed. In addition to that, Kirabo keeps a journal as a way of releasing emotional stress and finding emotional balance.
“I have had to make some lifestyle changes along the way to sustain my emotional health. One of those things I guard jealously is my sleep. For the first two years of my organisation, I slept on average four hours each and no wonder soon, I burnt out. I am currently committed to sleeping at least six hours on regular days and more on my day off. This too is therapeutic,” says Kirabo.
Research has shown that relationship exercises, diet and emotional wellbeing are closely related. Kirabo engages in regular physical activities as well as eating healthy meals. “Early this year, I decided to go vegetarian and I am loving the experience. Above all, I keep God at the centre of everything. I have found more healing in prayer and meditation than in any other avenue. My faith is central to my sanity,” she asserts.

Flavia Nabagabe
Flavia Nabagabe takes her mental health very seriously and will stop at nothing to nurture it. While most people struggle to find more hours in a day to finish their work, Nabagabe has structured her schedule so that she can have a rest day every two weeks. “I get a day off where I take a one-man retreat with no phone and music. I just go to sleep, eat, rest and recharge my body, mind and soul,” she shares. The avid reader also boosts her mind through reading books on politics, self-help and biographies that broadens her knowledge and makes her appreciate life. “Most emotional issues are made worse when we lack perspective. When our minds are closed in, we will think that our experiences are unique to us and that people and circumstances have been unfair to us. But reading widely exposes you to many other people who went through similar challenges, how they coped and this somewhat gives you hope,” Nabagabe explains.
Nabagabe, who believes in the power of togetherness, finds comfort in spending time with family and friends such as The Queens of Chess and The Sisters Keepers. Romantic relationships are one of the major parts of life which can greatly influence an individual’s mental health. Nabagabe employs effective intervening strategies such as honest conversations and bonding with her spouse by watching movies and going dancing together to keep her relationship healthy and strong.

Symptoms
According to Dr Agatha Nambuya an endocrinologist and nuclear medicine specialist, hormones are essential in the functioning of our bodies function.
Dr Nambuya observes that people often spend quite a lot of their time focusing on external factors of health like exercise and nutrition, yet internal factors such as hormones determine whether you are mentally healthy or not.
While mental illness manifests differently among different people, you might experience some of the signs and symptoms below.

Tell-tale signs
Lack of energy
Finding it hard to concentrate
Not wanting to see people
Sleeping challenges- such as sleeping more or less than normal, difficulty waking up, or difficulty falling or staying asleep
Feeling sad, low, tearful, guilty or hopeless
Changes in your appetite, for example feeling hungrier or wanting more snacks
Being more prone to physical health problems, such as colds, infections or other illnesses.
Losing interest in sex or physical contact
Suicidal feelings
Hallucinations, such as hearing voices or seeing things others don’t
Delusions (which could include paranoid delusions) – strong beliefs that others don’t share
Disorganised thinking and speech
Not wanting to look after yourself

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