Mental health: Don’t be caught off guard

Last week, the most gruesome of deaths happened in Wakiso District. Sixteen-year-old Abdurahim Rusiba, who was also a Primary Seven leaver, allegedly burnt himself to death.

Mr Musa Waligo, the father of the deceased said on the fateful day, his son did his usual chores including peeling matooke with his siblings, settled in the sitting room to watch television and after some time, got a five-litre jerrycan went and bought petrol, went to the outside bathroom and he set himself on fire. 

Dr Edris Kalanzi, the head of burns and reconstructive surgery at Kiruddu Hospital, said when he was asked why he had attempted to commit suicide, Rusiba said he was not loved and that it was only his brother who loved him.

He passed on the next morning due to the severe burns. Health workers have said he suffered from depression. 

The father said his son suffered from a speech impairment when he was younger and children would make fun of him and that he once mentioned suicide saying he was not loved by his peers and that they used to mock him for that. 

Mental illness in young people will continue to go untreated if we don’t pay attention and seek professional help including interpersonal therapy among others. Many young and old people alike grapple with depression but never think it serious enough to seek help. 

As we prepare for the opening of the first school term, mental health checks must feature prominently on those long and winding school requirements lists.  Check with your children to ensure that all is well. It has been a long holiday, anything could have happened.

Buying school requirements and paying school fees is great and no mean feat in this tough economy but what’s the point if the one for whom all this effort is being made is grappling with depression which could quickly escalate to misfortunes such as suicide. Be alert to signs of mental unwellness so it can quickly be dealt with at the root and snuffed out.

It goes without saying that mental health checks are not limited to young people. Parents, guardians and any other form of caregivers must take care of themselves too. After all, is it not true that you cannot give what you don’t have? If you are unwell, you cannot pass on wellness to those in your care. 

It is also true that untreated trauma can be passed on from one, in this case from parents to children call it a spill over. 

So, pay school fees, buy the requirements and take the children back to school but don’t overlook their mental health or yours for that matter.