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| Adolescent boys in talk therapy group near Kampala, Uganda. Credit: StrongMinds |
This was originally published on Global Health TV on June 29, 2015.
Sean Mayberry has spent his entire life surrounded by mental
illness. As a child and an adult, people close to him have endured this
affliction. But he had an epiphany when he happened upon a young man behind a
farmhouse in Uganda, sitting in his own excrement and digging in the dirt.
“It was a turning point for me,” he recalls. “I left that
young man knowing that I had to do something for the mental health of that continent. He gave me the courage to try to make a difference
for some of his mentally ill brothers and sisters.”
Pauline Muchina is dealing with mental illness in her family
in Kenya. Her 50-something sister lost her job due to depression and had to
come home to live with her mother. She is now on medication and attends
counseling.
Muchina also has a nephew suffering from depression. While
in a government hospital, he was chained to a bed for one week and his
condition got worse. Now the family has found a private rehabilitation center
for him. He is getting better but it is costing the family $2,500 for six
months. Muchina’s family is middle-class and can pay the treatment (with
difficulty), but the vast majority of Kenyans could never afford such expensive
treatment.
Mental
disorders and substance abuse are the third greatest contributor to the global
burden of disability with 23% of the burden – greater than cardiovascular
disease or cancer.
