All teachers have to understand the importance of mental health which, is the state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with myriad dynamics of life and realise their potential as well as learning well and working soundly.
Speaking before a mammoth crowd of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) teachers in West Pokot during the recent retooling organised by Teachers Service Commission, the moderator of the training who’s a seasoned educator, Dr Nakhisa Kusimba outlined that they’re many risks that manifest themselves at all stages of life, but those that manifest during developmental stages especially early childhood are extremely detrimental for example harsh parenting, excessive physical punishment, and even bullying, grossly undermine a child’s health at the rudimentary stages and eventually leads to mental health conditions.
A good number of people are highly likely to be products of such manhandling and consciously or unconsciously fall under this category.
He said that it was time for all teachers to cope correctly with mental health since it’s a global priority to prevent suicide. He asked teachers to stop overcommitting their pay to many microfinance institutions and even betting since it may lead to heavy indebtedness which will eventually lead to depression. He observed that in a span of three years, 100 teachers have committed suicide because of being unable to meet their financial obligation.
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Dr Nakhisa asserted that a vivid assessment that was carried out by Kenyan demographic survey established that one out of every two female teachers feel burnout due to higher stress levels related to financial management and that 28 per cent of educators experience many symptoms associated with depression which is above a quarter of the teaching workforce.
According to the Deputy Principal Chewoyet National School, Amos Ngesike, global statistics indicate that 703,000 people die by suicide each year and as such, it’s necessary to learn people’s psychology since some people are naturally more sensitive and reactive to stress.
There are those who are temperamental and a blend of inborn personality traits can cause them to be either resilient or feel more threatened and less able to cope with a certain situation.
Ngesike added that teachers have to learn simple tricks of copying with mental health like getting regular exercise every day, eating healthy, focusing on positivity, making sleep a priority, avoiding excessive drug or alcohol use, avoiding impulsive spending, avoiding overeating and proper selection of friends.
By Hillary Muhalya
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