By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, July 27, GNA – The YAH-Salem Foundation, a child protection non-governmental organisation (NGO), has held a sensitisation programme on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) for Chemu Senior High School students.
The event was aimed at prioritising mental health education among the youth through the adoption of management and prevention strategies for all persons in the community.
Ms. Helena Enyinful, the Secretary of the Foundation, said the programme was aimed at providing a detailed mental health education that would promote a supportive environment for the students in the Tema community.
This would help the students to determine how to handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices, saying that mental health was important at every stage of life, from childhood to adulthood, hence the need to target the children.
“We tend to think that it’s only adults that go through mental issues such as anxiety and depression, and we overlook the fact that these adults were once children who may have faced several challenges in their walks in life; it’s very important that we pay close attention to children and tackle all related mental health issues from the root cause,” she stated.
She said that although the foundation had touched the lives of many children, it recognised that there was more work to be done, and her outfit had positioned itself to adapt, innovate, and continue pushing boundaries to create a sustainable and meaningful impact.
Mr. Innocent Funn, the National Clinical Psychologist of the SOS Children Village, in a presentation, defined mental health as the well-being and functioning of the individual’s mind, emotions, and behaviour.
Mr. Funn explained that mental health comprised the emotional, psychological, social, cognitive, and behavioural well-being of an individual.
He said it affected how people think, feel, and act, stressing that adopting and practicing self-care and compassion, seeking help, and building strong relationships and social connections, among others, were important in promoting mental wellness.
He emphasised that mental health was not madness and could be treated by professionals, saying prioritising good mental health was crucial in making vibrant decisions for the community and socio-economic development.
Some mental health conditions include mood disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and anxiety disorder, which comprise generalised anxiety disorder, panic, social anxiety, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and others.
He urged the students to report weird behaviours among their classmates to school authorities, adding that intensification of education across the country was a critical step in preventing mental illness in Ghana.
GNA