People with mental illness in Uganda cry out to the government
By Nangayi Guyson – It is truly unbelievable when you move onto the streets in the cities around the world and find some one who is mentally disturbed throwing stones, running naked, dancing where there is no music, laughing where others are crying and all other sorts of weird things people with mental illness can do. What comes into your minds first, will it be calling him or her a useless person, bewitched, cursed and no more future for them? If you have never come across anyone of that kind then you can visit the Hospitals for people with mental illness and you will prove me right.
Heartsounds meeting
In Uganda, however, mental illness is not much catered for, since some societies look it at as a curse and there are many patients with mental problems that are ignored. Some are taken to treatment centres like Butabika Hospital, but when they escape, it ends there. Leaving that aside, mental health facilities are not evenly spread and staffed countrywide, causing congestion at Butabika.
Mental Health service users of Uganda and staff of civil society listening to their facilitator Tina Ntulo of Basic Needs Uganda at a Self Advocacy Training workshop.
Mental illness is seen as a threat to some governments in the world due to its associated symptoms’ like; increased spending of money, rapid speech, loss of judgment, highly critical of others, increased risk taking, racing thoughts, sadness and tearfulness, Anxiety , agitation or panic attacks, heightened perception of reality and so many others not mentioned here. What causes mental illnesses is still not known but there is some evidence to suggest that it is probably due to changes in brain chemistry and that outside factors, such as stressful life events (past and present). There are also some other Biological Factors which are involved in Mental Illness like;
Rashid Male community based development specialist and a mental health activist
Genetics (heredity): Many mental illnesses run in families, suggesting that people who have a family member with a mental illness are more likely to develop a mental illness. Susceptibility is passed on in families through genes. Experts believe many mental illnesses are linked to abnormalities in many genes — not just one. That is why a person inherits a susceptibility to a mental illness and doesn’t necessarily develop the illness. Mental illness itself occurs from the interaction of multiple genes and other factors –such as stress, abuse, or a traumatic event — which can influence, or trigger, an illness in a person who has an inherited susceptibility to it.
Coodinator heartsounds and London users at World Congress in S.A
Infections: Certain infections have been linked to brain damage and the development of mental illness or the worsening of its symptoms. For example, a condition known as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder (PANDA) associated with the Streptococcus bacteria has been linked to the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental illnesses in children.
Brain defects or injury: Defects in or injuries to certain areas of the brain have also been linked to some mental illnesses.
Prenatal damage: Some evidence suggests that a disruption of early fetal brain development or trauma that occurs at the time of birth — for example, loss of oxygen to the brain — may be a factor in the development of certain conditions, such as autism.
Substance abuse: Long-term substance abuse, in particular, has been linked to anxiety, depression, and paranoia.
Other factors: Poor nutrition and exposure to toxins, such as lead, may play a role in the development of mental illnesses and many others not mentioned here.
