Brook Thoughts

October 10: “ "Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change" Patients should be at the forefront of mental health advocacy. One of my favorite articles on mental health was written by Hannah Jane Parkinson for The Guardian, titled “It’s nothing like a broken leg: Why I’m done with the mental health conversation.” In the article, Parkinson reflects on her difficult journey with mental illness and the widespread lack of understanding that often surrounds it. She highlights how conversations about mental health tend to focus on depression and anxiety while overlooking more severe and complex mental illnesses. She also challenges the popular narrative that simply asking for help is enough, pointing to the gap between what is often said in the media and the reality many patients experience. This raises an important question: Who gets to shape the conversation about mental health? People who have experienced mental illness possess a unique kind of knowledge. Beyond textbooks, academic research, and classroom learning, they bring lived experiences that can reveal the realities of navigating symptoms, seeking treatment, and accessing care. Yet, these voices are often missing from the conversations and decisions that directly affect their lives. Lived experience should be central to shaping mental health policies, improving healthcare services, and designing awareness campaigns. People with mental health conditions should be consulted when policies affecting them are developed and actively involved in educating the public. Clinical expertise and scientific research are essential, but they should complement—not overshadow—the voices of those who experience mental illness firsthand. People living with mental illness should not simply be the subjects of mental health advocacy. They should be among the people leading it. Here is a link to the article I mentioned https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/30/nothing-like-broken-leg-mental-health-conversation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Four years on YouTube!

ስለአዕምሮ ጤና ስንወያይ ምን አይነት ነገሮች ላይ እናተኩር? https://youtu.be/_bFeTIE1sHk

"እብደት" ወይስ ባህል? የማህበረሰብ እውነታ የት ያብቃል? የአእምሮ ሕክምናስ ከየት ይጀምራል? መግብያ አንዲት ወጣት ልጅ በድንገት የዕለት ተዕለት ተግባሯን አቋርጣ፣ በተለየ የድምፅ ቃና የማታውቀውን ቋንቋ መናገር ብትጀምር፣ ቤተሰቧ እና የአካባቢው ማህበረሰብ ምን ያደርጋሉ? ወይም አንድ ገበሬ ሰዎች በሌሉበት ቦታ በጆሮው የሚነጋግረው ድምፅ ቢሰማ እና ለ ዘመዶቹ ቢነግራቸው ምን ያደርጉለት ይሆን ? 1- በበርካታ የኢትዮጵያ ክፍሎች—በተለይም በገጠራማው ወይም ባህላዊ እሴቶች ባሉበት አካባቢ—ይህ ሁኔታ ወዲያውኑ እንደ "እብደት" ወይም እንደ አእምሮ ሕመም ላይወሰድ ይችላል። ይልቁንም "ውላጅ አደገባት ወይም አደገባበት ወይም ፣ "የዛር መንፈስ ተናገራት ወይም ተናገረው" ወይም "የመንፈሳዊ ጥሪ ምልክት ነው" ተብሎ ሊታመን ይችላል። ቤተሰቧም ወይም ቤተሰቡም ወደ ሕክምና ቦታ ከመውሰድ ይልቅ ወደ ባህላዊ ፈዋሾች፣ ወደ ጸበል ወይም ወደ ፀሎት ቦታ መፍትሄ ፍለጋ ተያይዘው ያመራሉ።በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ፣ ይኸው ክስተት በዘመናዊ አእምሮ ሕክምና (Psychiatry) እይታ ሲቃኝ፣ ሳይኪያትሪስቱ ወዲያውኑ አእምሮ ቀውስ (Psychosis)፣ የቅዠት/የስሜት መታወክ ወይም የከባድ አእምሮ ሕመም ምልክት እንደ (Auditory Hallucination) ሊሆን እንደሚችል ይገምታል።ታዲያ እውነታው የትኛው ነው? የማህበረሰቡ ባህላዊ እውነታ የት ያብቃል? የአእምሮ ሕክምናስ(Psychiatry) ከየት ይጀምራል? 2. ባህል እና የአእምሮ ሕክምና ሲገናኙእንደ አእምሮ ሕክምና ስፔሻሊስት (Psychiatrist)፣ የሥራችን ዋና ክፍል የአእምሮን ባዮሎጂያዊ እና ኬሚካላዊ መዛባት መረዳት ብቻ አይደለም። ይልቁንም ግለሰቡ የሚኖርበትን ማህበረሰብ፣ ባህል እና እምነት በጥልቀት መረዳት ነው።የሰው ልጅ አእምሮ እና ባህሪ ከሚኖርበት አካባቢ ተነጥሎ ሊታይ አይችልም። በአንድ ማህበረሰብ ዘንድ እንደ "መንፈሳዊ ልምድ" ወይም እንደ ባህላዊ ሥርዓት የሚወሰድ ድርጊት፣ በሌላው ዘንድ እንደ ሕመም ሊቆጠር ይችላል።የመንፈሳዊ እና ባህላዊ ልምዶች: በኢትዮጵያ አውድ እንደ ዛር፣ ሲሂር፣ ወይም ቡዳ አዶከብሬ እና ሌሎችም መፍትሄ ፍለጋ በተለያዩ የ እምነት ቦታወች ሊያጋጥሙን ይችላሉ.በእኔ እምነት እነኚህ ሁኔታወች በማህበረሰቡ ዘንድ የታወቁ እና የተቀበሏቸው እውነታዎች ናቸው። 3-የባህል እና የአዕምሮ ሕመም ልዩነት: አንድ ሰው በባህላዊ ወይም በሃይማኖታዊ ሥርዓት ውስጥ ሆኖ የሚያሳየው ባህሪ በማህበረሰቡ ዘንድ የተለመደ እና ተቀባይነት ካለው እንደ አእምሮ ሕመም አይቆጠርም። ሳይኪያትሪስቶች መስመሩን እንዴት ይለያሉ?አንድን ባህላዊ እምነት የሚታይ ባሕርይ ከእውነተኛ የአእምሮ ሕመም ለመለየት አእምሮ ሕክምና ሁለት ዋና ዋና መስፈርቶችን ይጠቀማል፡የባህል ስምምነት (Cultural Congruence): ይህ ባህሪ ወይም እምነት ግለሰቡ በሚኖርበት ማህበረሰብ፣ ባህል ወይም ሃይማኖት ዘንድ የታወቀ እና ተቀባይነት ያለው ነው? መልሱ "አዎ" ከሆነ፣ ሁኔታው በባህል ወይም ኃይማኖትዊ ሥርዓት ውስጥ ሊታይ የሚችል ባሕርይ ነው እንጂ የአእምሮ ሕመም አይደለም።ሌላው ጥልቅ የአእምሮ ሥቃይ እና የሕይወት መስተጓጎል (Distress and Impairment): ግለሰቡ የሚያሳየው ባህሪ ከባህላዊው አውድ ውጭ ሆኖ፣ በውስጡ ከባድ የአእምሮ ሥቃይ የሚያስከትልበት እና የዕለት ተዕለት ሕይወቱን፣ ሥራውንና ማህበራዊ ግንኙነቱን ሙሉ በሙሉ የሚያስተጓጉል ከሆነ፣ እዚህ ጋር የማህበረሰቡ እውነታ አብቅቶ የአእምሮ ሕክምናው ይጀምራል። መውጫ "የአእምሮ ሕክምና ዓላማ ባህላዊ እምነቶችን ወይም የተለዩ አስተሳሰቦችን ማረም አይደለም፤ ይልቁንም እውነተኛ ሕመምን፣ ጥልቅ የአእምሮ ሥቃይን እና የሕይወት መስተጓጎልን ማከም ነው።" ይህ ለምን ይጠቅመናል?የባህል እና የአእምሮ ሕክምናን ግንኙነት መረዳታችን እንደ ስኪዞፍሬኒያ (Schizophrenia)፣ ባይፖላር (Bipolar Disorder) ወይም ከባድ ድብርት ያሉ እውነተኛ የአእምሮ ሕመሞችን "ባህል ብቻ ናቸው" ብለን እንድዳንዘናጋ ይረዳናል ። እነዚህ ሕመሞች በሁሉም የዓለም ክፍል እና ባህል ውስጥ ያሉ ባዮሎጂያዊ መነሻ ያላቸው ሕመሞች ናቸው።ነገር ግን ባህልን መረዳታችን፣ ታካሚዎቻችንን በሕክምና ስናግዝ የባህል ትህትና (Cultural Humility) እንዲኖረን እና ማህበረሰባችንን በሚገባ እንድንረዳ ያደርገናል።እርስዎስ ምን ያስባሉ? በባህላችን ውስጥ "የሕመም ምልክት" እና "የባህል/የመንፈስ ልምድ" ተደባልቀው ያዩበት ወይም የሰሙበት አጋጣሚ አለ? አስተያየትዎን ከታች ያካፍሉን! Dr Yonas Baheretibeb Consultant Psychiatrist and Child Psychiatrist Associate Professor of Psychiatry AAU

We need more mental health advocacy, but there are issues we need to think about first. While discussing this with a Senior Psychiatrist, he informed me that mental health is a topic ‘everyone gives an opinion on, but that knowledge of the discipline is important’. I agree that mental health professionals should lead the way when it comes to educating the public about the different mental health disorders. Media outlets should always include expert voices when covering these topics. Podcasts should also be careful when inviting guests and discussing these issues to a large audience. Topics related to mental health are taboo in our society, and there is stigma associated with these issues. In addition to that, misinformation is creating a significant barrier to help-seeking behavior. Of course, we don’t have as many mental health professionals as needed. Even then, these professionals don’t have the time to write articles, appear in mainstream media, or create content on social media regularly. So people who want to create awareness about these issues should offer them the platform as much as possible. Advocacy doesn’t mean medical advice, which is given by a professional in a clinical setting, but helping people understand what mental health is and busting harmful myths goes a long way in making a difference. I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate everyone working to make a difference when it comes to mental health awareness. Now and always- mental health matters!

የተጎጂነት መብት ስሜት (Victim Entitlement) ይህ ማለት አንድ ሰው ባጋጠመው ስቃይና ተጎጂ በመሆኑ መጠን ልዩ ካሳ ወይም ልዩ አያያዝ የማግኘት መብት እንዳለው በውስጡ ሳያውቅ የሚያምንበት ሂደት ነው። ይህ አስተሳሰብ ሰውየው የደረሰበትን ስቃይ በሁሉም አጋጣሚ እንዲያጋንን ሊያደርገው ይችላል። ሕክምና ወይም ተገቢ እርዳታ ካልተደረገለት፣ ተጎጂ መሆን የኑሮ ዘይቤ ሊሆን ይችላል።

Latest Blog: https://brookgenene.substack.com/p/back-then-it-was-tv-now-it-is-a-smartphone?r=r7ih4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

People always ask how to overcome depression. It’s the wrong question. Depression is the psychic equivalent of fever. Fever is a “non-specific” response to an enormous range of underlying physiological conditions, from the common cold to Ebola. Depression is likewise a non-specific response to an enormous range of underlying difficulties. It is pointless to talk in the abstract about how to overcome “depression” because depression, like fever, is not one thing but many things. Depression is an effect, not a cause. Effective treatment means understanding and addressing the causes, not just treating the symptom. Those causes, more often than not, are woven into the fabric of a person’s life. That means the solution requires examining ourselves—how we live, and how we function, and how we relate to others or fail to relate. That is hard work, and what real psychotherapy is about. Without doing that work, the vulnerability to depression will always remain. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. But for most people most of the time, there are no quick fixes or magic bullets. For most people most of the time, depression is a message. The message is: we must change something about ourselves. -Johnathan Shedler-

There is a difference between ‘feeling depressed’ which can mean a lot of things from feeling sad to low mood and energy and being clinically diagnosed with depression after having a thorough evaluation by a mental health professional. Telling people to just walk off their depression, exercise or do something doesn’t really make a difference if they have clinical depression. Medication might be necessary and in other cases psychotherapy will help. There is no one fits all approach. It differs from case to case. So in general people should be careful about the advises they give and the judgement they pass on someone encountering depression.

Happy New Year!

We can't keep running away from the conversation around suicide and at the same time be shocked when the issue keeps affecting the people around us. We need to do better as a society.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day It is more important than ever to open up honest conversations about the issue. It is also important to work to address harmful myths and stigma surrounding mental illness. During this holiday season, let’s make sure to be there for one another. Let’s support each other and offer a helping hand.

I recently listened again to the Ethiopian song “ኑር ባታምንም/ መኖርህን ሰዎች ይሻሉ.” It was clearly written with a good intention: to discourage suicide and remind people that their lives matter. That message is important, and I respect the artists for addressing a subject our community often avoids. But some of the lyrics also made me uncomfortable. Asking a person why they would consider suicide, describing the act as cowardly, or emphasizing what they owe to others can unintentionally sound like blame. A person experiencing severe depression is not lacking courage, gratitude, faith, or love for their family. They are suffering from an illness that can distort their thinking, erase hope, and make the future seem impossible. In Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison explains how suicidal despair can paralyze a person’s thinking until the present feels unbearable and no alternative seems available. She quotes a young chemist who wrote, “If there is any eternal torment worse than mine, I’ll have to be shown.” That sentence reveals something we often fail to understand: some people are not choosing death because they do not value life; they are desperately trying to escape pain they can no longer imagine surviving. In the Ethiopian community, we still too often interpret depression through the language of weakness, ingratitude, insufficient faith, attention-seeking, or poor character. We may tell someone to pray harder, be strong, remember their responsibilities, or consider how much others are suffering. Faith, family, and community can certainly be sources of healing, but they should not replace compassionate listening and professional mental-health care. Instead of asking, “Why would you do this?” perhaps we should ask, “What pain has become unbearable for you, and how can I help you carry it?” Instead of saying, “People need you, so be strong,” we can say, “You are not weak, you are not a burden, and you do not have to face this alone.” Our language matters. Good intentions are not always enough. We need to understand depression as a real illness, listen without judgment, and create a community in which asking for psychological help is treated with the same dignity as seeking treatment for any other medical condition. Dr. Mesay Hailemariam

Thoughts on the importance of friendship for one's mental health https://t.co/yXCUqOmXU3

ሜታ መተግበሪያዎቹ ህጻናትን ሱሰኛ ያደርጋሉ በሚል የቀረበበትን ክስ አስተባበለ የፌስቡክ እና ኢንስታግራም አስተዳዳሪው ሜታ መተግበሪያዎቹ ታዳጊዎችን እና ህጻናትን ሱሰኛ ለማድረግ ታስበው የተሰሩ ናቸው በሚል የቀረበበትን ክስ ያስተባበለ ሲሆን፣ የቴክኖሎጂ ግዙፉን ኩባንያ የወደፊት አካሄድ ሊለውጥ ይችላል የተባለዉ የፍርድ ቤት ክስ ተጀምሮበታል። በ29 የአሜሪካ ግዛቶች የቀረበው ይህ ክስ፣ ፌስቡክ እና ኢንስታግራም በህጻናት የአእምሮ እና የአካል ጤና ላይ ለሚደርሱ ጉዳቶች እያወቁ አስተዋጽኦ አድርገዋል ሲል ይከሳል። የክሱ ውጤት በሜታ ላይ የቢሊዮን ዶላሮች ቅጣት ሊያስከትል የሚችል ከመሆኑም በላይ፣ እንደ አውስትራሊያ፣ ፖላንድ እና ቪየትናም ያሉ ሀገራት ህጻናት የማህበራዊ ሚዲያ አጠቃቀምን ለመገደብ በሚሰሩበት በዚህ ወቅት በመድረኮቹ ላይ ከፍተኛ ለውጥ ሊያመጣ ይችላል ተብሏል።

“ We don’t prevent suicide by doing “safety assessments.” We prevent suicide by creating ongoing, meaningful connections where patients feel seen, heard, and understood in a relationship where they matter.” https://x.com/JonathanShedler