By Frank Njenga
Mental illness is the most democratic. It does not discriminate who gets a mental illness. Of the 450 million in the world who have a recognizable mental illness, there are royalty, presidents, company CEOs, laborers, the unemployed, and all other cadres of society. Just to drop a few well-known names, you might tell your audience of Princess Diana, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, among others. Even without being an expert in mental health, I am sure that between you and your gym instructor can find a number of people in the gym, your church, and if you look further, you will identify a Member of Parliament or even Governor who might be going through depression. After all, experts estimate that 20 percent of all Kenyans will at one time or another suffer from depression.
To bring it closer to home, in a family of five (say parents and three children), the global statistics indicate that one of those five will go through a depressive illness in their lifetime.
To bring the matter to your gym, it means that if there are 100 members, 20 of them will have an illness at one stage or another.
A recent study published in the Daily Mail concluded that Members of Parliament are 26 percent more likely to feel depressed, worthless and stressed than their constituents…read more>>
