May 13 2022 was no ordinary day, one of
Uganda’s leading newspapers flashed on its front pages a headline “14 million
Ugandans have mental disorders”, the headline cast a shadow across the day, its
words heavy with sorrow and disbelief. The news item stood as a stark reminder
that even in a world bustling with life, there were moments that could plunge
everything into a cold, unforgiving darkness.
Ink-black and red letters etched against a
stark white background, the words seemed to weigh down the air itself, the
headline echoed with the somber toll of a funeral bell. The story beneath told
of lives that would be cut short, dreams that would be shuttered and community
left reeling in shock.
The details in the news item emerged like a
mosaic of pain, the air filled with a palpable sense of grief that seemed to
transcend the confines of the words. According to the article written by
Cecilia Okoth for the New Vision Newspaper, 35 out of every Uganda may be
battling with a mental health problem. One senior ministry of health official
retorted “If each of the 14 million people interacts with atleast two other
individuals, then almost the entire population (42 million) Ugandans are
affected by mental health directly or indirectly.”
In the end, the news item left a lingering
ache in the heart. It was a reminder of the fragility of life, the
unpredictability of fate, and the way tragedy could shatter the ordinary in an
instant. It was a story that would fade from headlines, but its impact would
remain, a scar etched into the collective memory, a reminder to hold tight to
sanity and cherish the joy of a sound mind.
Sometime in August 2012, in a dimly lit room,
Joan (not real name) was trapped in some sort of chaos, a sense of heaviness
hung in the air like a fog that refused to lift. Her once vibrant eyes now
dulled, sat huddled on the edge of her bed. Shadows danced across the walls,
mirroring the turmoil within her mind. The silence was broken only by the faint
ticking of a clock, a constant reminder of the passage of time she wished would
stand still.
Her parents house in Namasuba, Entebbe had
many rooms and her room stood at the very end of the walkaway, what was once a
sanctuary of comfort, now felt like a prison. The sunlight struggled to
penetrate through the curtains, casting an eerie half-light that failed to warm
her spirit. Her tangled hair framed her face like a veil, concealing the
battles that raged within me. The lines on her face told stories of sleepless
nights and tear-stained cheeks. Her trembling fingers traced invisible patterns
on the bed she was seated on, two things made sense that day, the light in the
room and her old childhood picture that hang around in the room, the rest was a
storm that brewed within – a chaotic and fragmented, a maze of thoughts that
led nowhere.
Joan had attempted to stare at her reflection
in the old mirror that stood at the corner of the room, the reflections she saw
were as though she was staring at a stranger. All she could see where hollow
eyes staring back at her, a reflection of the emptiness that had taken root in her
soul. She longed for escape, for release from the grip of her own mind, but the
chains of her thoughts bound her tight.
Outside, the world continued its rhythm,
unaware of the tempest that raged within her. Birds chirped, cars passed by,
and laughter echoed from afar. But these sounds were distant and muffled, like
a symphony she couldn't quite grasp. Her isolation was not only physical but
emotional, a chasm between her and the life she once knew.
It was clear that she needed a memory of
connection amidst this turbulence in thoughts, perhaps the embrace of her
brother Peter or the soft-spoken words of her grandmother Goretti or better
still the genuine smile that had once graced her elder Peace’s lips. Her heartbeat
in her chest was scary, she was staring at a killer, the silent killer that
mental health is.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder - a mental
disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally
elevated mood that each last from days to weeks. She was troubled. This series
of the ice breaker unearths some of the challenges that individuals with mental
disorders experience.
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