WHERE DID KARIBI’s SEXUALITY GO???
I met Karibi through her hubby. The first time I met the couple I noticed the sharp contrast in their appearances and compartment. While Jim seemed cool and calculated, Karibi was obviously jittery and withdrawn.
Jim had a lot to say about his wife. He felt he could no longer relate with her. He felt she was too concerned about their 6 year old son who lives with a condition called Cerebral palsy. He couldn’t remember when last they had a laugh together or just went out for some ice cream or had romantic moments. Hours of interaction revealed that his concerns were actually the least of hers.
Karibi was a beautiful and fashionable lady with high spirits. Anyone who knew her got a dose of her friendliness and confidence. All these changed when Tonye came into their lives. Their son missed all his milestones and seemed unnaturally stiff. After bags of money and several visits to doctors, the child was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Though a common childhood disorder, it is arguably the most expensive congenital condition to manage and affects movement, muscle tone or posture. Cerebral palsy is due to abnormal brain development, often before birth.
It is little wonder that Karibi is on a path of depression following her motherhood journey with her adorable. The rejection she faces from close family and friends, the mental enstrangement she felt from a husband who didn’t understand the pain she felt each time people starred at her and her baby while whispering to their children to stay away from her, was enough to distort her mental health.
In the year 2023, the UN declared ‘Mental health is a universal human right’.
I’m trying to wrap my head around the above statement. Are they mere words or values which should be engrained in the society?
At what point in the history of man did mental health become a ‘global concern?’
Before I continue, lets all be sure we’re on the same page.
‘Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act’ this definition was adopted from Google. From this definition, I dare say mental health are all encompassing and subtle and there is no single cause of it.
There’s nothing as dangerous as a problem that starts without anyone taking note of it.
So I work with a group of women who manage children with special needs. At one point or the other in their interaction with their children they are likely to experience mood swings which may impede on their mental health.
Isn’t health meant to be for all? If mental health is a functional human right why wasn’t there anyone to observe the distress, isolation, absence of self – care, sadness and hopelessness of victims like Karibi before she experienced a total mental breakdown?
It is hoped that with increase in these conversations and with focus on the rights of Persons with mental health issues, there would be a decline in the statistics of victims of depression and related conditions.