Two Psychology Degrees And I'm Still A Beginner

Hi there,

Happy June, can you believe we’re already six months into the year? I took a little break from writing because my schedule got too packed. Unsurprisingly, I found myself struggling to write again- I thought maybe I should have a good enough reason for why I had missed 2 months. Then I remembered that I had made a promise to be consistent in my writing and part of that lesson is how to get back in after a break. So hi again, thanks for reading on.

May was mental health awareness month.

A global recognition of the importance of mental health and the conversations that shape our approach to treatment of mental illness. The conversation on awareness has evolved to include an exploration of social structures that are weaved into our definition of what is healthy and what is not. I dedicated the entire month to sharing mental health insights on my Instagram which you should definitely check out.

Which brings me to the steady hum that is constantly running in the back of my head when I think about mental health. 

Imagine a mix of quiet dissatisfaction and a battle chant. Over the past few years, I have had to come into my role as a mental health professional in a developing nation. Coming into my role has involved accepting that there are few opportunities for traditional employment which has led me to settle into self-employment. My backdrop is a developing nation where needs outweigh available resources. (These are loaded topics that I would like to explore further in a different think piece).

My blend of dissatisfaction and battle chant takes the shape of a flawed thinking pattern, “if we could just figure out (insert basic need) then mental health would (insert a better alternative than our current reality). 

If we could just figure out a basic healthcare system that is accessible and provides what we need, then we might be able to make mental healthcare a part of this accessible system;

If we could just figure out the “economy”, then mental healthcare could be affordable;

If we could just figure out our education system, then mental health would be weaved into our social structure as a part of socialisation.

This has transformed how I think about my work quite a lot.

Not just as a therapist working with clients directly, but as a creator sharing thoughts and ideas on social media. So far, we have worked on creating awareness through talking about what mental health and illness looks like. The focus of this psychoeducation has been to sensitise people on the symptoms of mental illness that have previously been left untreated or discriminated against. It is a great starting point, defining terms and parameters so that we are all moving forward from a similar point of view. 

But, where does mental health fall when we are still working on meeting the most basic societal needs?

Thinking about decent housing, regular and nutritious meals, clean and piped drinking water, access to healthcare and education, the ability to expand beyond the social class we are born into through honest work.

In Kenya and Africa at large, these populate the essential list of daily needs for a majority of the population. For many of us, at some point, we have to forgo one for the other or work to barely fulfil each of these needs. Adding mental health and emotional wellbeing to the list becomes a distant dream if at all. 

Which brings me to what years of academic discipline failed to show me

There is an intersection between mental health and systemic issues such as stigma and economic disparities that are bigger than two individuals sitting in a therapy room. 

Awareness has played an important role in dispelling the stigma that arose from a lack of knowledge about mental illnesses. Beyond a lack of knowledge, there is continued stigma emanating from selective ignorance. People choosing to discriminate people living with mental illness. 

Economic disparities are part of the systemic issues that make this awareness irrelevant and unactionable. Being able to earn a living that allows you to pursue further interests; policies that make care accessible and; institutions that promote recovery and rehabilitation of the mentally ill are part of the structures that impact individual mental health. In short, awareness doesn’t mean much when we can’t pay for therapy or food.

Second, our community survival patterns play a bigger role in individual mental health than we realise (or care to admit). These are more than quirks like making a joke about certain aspects of a traumatic event. It is our collective avoidance of hard conversations, bottled up fear and anger that explodes periodically, and the quiet return to our daily lives but with more discontent than before. 

Community survival patterns are insidious. They inform our biases about what health looks like and our reaction to efforts made in pursuit of the same. I had made a post about How people might react to boundaries "Kenyan edition". I included common phrases that are made in jest but that, in truth, are a form of community resistance to individual change. Survival patterns are rooted in being captivated by fear and scarcity so we are focused on getting through. But when you're stuck here for a long time it becomes harder to notice life moving on.

Third is what we learn about handling difficulties and relationships from our families. This dynamic makes it to my therapy room more obviously than the first two points. Our ability to be open and how far is too open; what we think is a natural way of handling challenges; how we handle difference in opinions between ourselves and significant others; and what we do with raptures in our relationships.

Working over the years with my clients, I am more alive to the shaping that happens to us in our family units. We bear the expectations of our families and we are yet to be "westernised" enough to cut off ties with family. So we try to find palatable ways of communicating our mental and emotional health needs to parents and aunties who pushed through their own crises because that was the only available option to them.

However, I’m a firstborn Kenyan female, I was born to try and make things better. 

I acknowledge my dissatisfaction at the gaping holes in mental healthcare. I similarly accept my role in contributing to the changes needed. I continue to learn and reflect on my lessons. 

Turning to you

What are the bigger things happening around you that impact your ability to feel wholesome, or go for what you desire?