Tag: mental health

The Church’s Role In Addressing Mental Health Challenges Amongst Believers

Chaplain Simbarashe Chenjerai

By Chaplain Simbarashe Chenjerai The world is facing a plethora of challenges such wars, famines, unemployment, droughts, cyclones among other ills. This has resulted in a number of public health challenges including mental health related woes. Over the years, there has been an increase in the incidence of drug and substance abuse, depression, anxiety among other mental health challenges. It is against this background that this article seeks to explore the role of the Church in addressing the growing mental health scourge. Christians and believers are not immune to mental…

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Rebuilt from Ruin: Overcoming the Psychological Scars of Injury

Healthtimes

For professional athletes and gym rats, a major injury is a brutal blow. It’s not just the throbbing pain and logistical nightmares, but the mental gut punch of being benched from your passion. After physio purgatory and a clean bill of health, you might think you’re good to go. But hold up – there’s often a mental hurdle to clear. Fear of re-injury or losing your skills can leave you stuck on the sidelines. This awfully often happens with the players in the Premier League in recent years, making managers…

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Household Food Insecurity Worries Pushed Mental Health Challenges During COVID-19 In Zimbabwe

Ntokozo Gudu

Rosalina Mutekedza (38), a single mother from Warren Park 1 in Harare is happy the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided and there is no more need for any restrictions and lockdowns to contain the spread of the diseases. By Ntokozo Gudu Above all, she is happy that now she can fend for her three children without any fear of breaking the law. She recalls how the COVID-19 induced lockdowns almost drive her into depression owing to uncertainty they brought. I was worried. During the first 21 days of the COVID-19, i…

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Drug Abuse Admissions Overwhelm Annex Psychiatric Hospital

Michael Gwarisa

Parirenyatwa Annex Hospital, the Psychiatric division of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (PGH), is currently admitting more drug and substance abusers compared to other mental health patients, officials have said. By Michael Gwarisa The development has disrupted care and service provision for other mental health conditions at the facility. Even though the facility at some point reduced the admissions to 10 adults at any given time at the back of ongoing renovations, data shows that more than half of bed occupants are drug and substance abusers. Speaking to HealthTimes, Parirenyatwa Group…

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How Climate Change is Fueling a Mental Health Crisis in Urban Zimbabwe

Taurai Nyandoro

By Taurai Nyandoro If there are any global issues that have garnered and evoked increased attention in the past few years, it has to be climate change and mental health. A growing body of evidence points to the connection between climate change and mental health. In fact, there is a link between climate change and mental disorders, including fear, anxiety, stress, insomnia, depression, lost self-efficacy, mood disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Urban residents in Zimbabwe are not immune to the impacts of droughts, floods, and heatwaves. Unsurprisingly, these changes…

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House of Arts Association Uses Art To Tackle Mental Health Issues in Youths

Ntokozo Gudu

A Youth-led community movement, House Of Arts Association has created a platform to raise awareness and combat mental health issues through art. By Nthokozo Gudu The organization believes that through art, the highest expression of self, an individual can rediscover themselves, free themselves, hence creating a world that heals everyone in any way possible, in the process spreading awareness on mental health to young people as it helps them build positive social, emotional,intellectual and communication skills. Recently House of Arts Association(HAA) in collaboration with the U.S Embassy, screened a documentary…

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MSF Provides mental health support for refugees

Healthtimes

In Tongogara refugee camp, a remote place in the south-east of Zimbabwe where over 15,000 people live, most of the refugees come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Burundi and Rwanda. While in their country of origin, most of the refugees experienced traumatic events including war, rape, torture and physical injuries, among other traumatic events that caused them to flee. By Staff Reporter For some of the refugees, the camp is the only home they have known for nearly 20 years, having been born and bred there. As…

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An uptown girl’s battle with drug and substance use

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere DRUG and substance abuse in Zimbabwe is usually synonymous with the ghetto streets. A dirty, shabby, red eyed male figure is probably the first picture one envisions when they think of drug users and abusers. Well, here is a Newsflash, the drug crisis is equally endemic and deep rooted in uptown residential areas such as Borrowadale Brooke, Chisipite, Umwinsdale and others just as is the case with Ghettos like Mabvuku, Mbare, Fio, Kuwadzana, Mufakose and others. It also knows no gender as more and more girls are…

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100 graduate in Quality Rights for Mental Health training

Kuda Pembere

A HUNDRED persons graduated after completing a Quality Rights training on mental health recovery and community inclusion which started in January this year. By Kudakwashe Pembere The training equips the general citizenry as well as professionals in the handling of persons with lived mental health experiences. It comes at a time when stigma stereotyping of people with psychosocial disabilties is still rife in the community and even some public health facilities. World Health Organization (WHO) Zimbabwe focal person for mental health Dr Debra Machando said the course is a recovered…

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Zimbabwe has highest Adolescents Suicide Ideation rate in Sub-Saharan Africa

Michael Gwarisa

DATA collected during a study on Suicide Ideation of Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa conducted by Regional Psychosocial Support Initiatives (REPSSI) shows that Zimbabwe has the highest rates of adolescents who think of committing suicide compared to other countries in the Sub-Saharan region. By Michael Gwarisa Suicidal ideation is when one thinks about killing him/herself. According to the report, a number of variables were associated with an increased risk for suicide ideation in the study. These include being older, being female, not being in school, being orphaned, not having a tap…

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