The Perception of Mental Illnesses by Senegalese People

If you live in Senegal, you have probably met on the streets homeless people that might have seemed a little odd to you; Maybe they were laughing constantly, or were making a speech, or even were shooting pebbles to pedestrians. Either way, I am almost sure that your reaction was to run away from them, just like I would have done; Moreover, you maybe have, by a happenstance, encountered a case of suicide or suicide attempt either in your family, circle of friends or in the media. And you have probably noticed a raise of the criminality in Senegal. Why does all of these things happen? What could be the possible solutions?

According to Ansoumana Dione, Senegal was before one of the most skilled countries in Africa in mental illness care, but now is one the lowest ranked countries. Firstly, it is because the government is not really supporting that field of medicine. There is a lack of investments, thus, a lack of institutions; Moreover, mental illnesses are underestimated and badly perceived by Senegalese people. The most minimized ones being depression and anxiety according to Dr. Aïda Sylla. Someone would suffer from depression and would not ask for help. Because if he or she did, there would be a high chance that they would get laughed at or told to “mun (resign in Wolof) because life is hard for everyone”.

People that suffer from mental illnesses are likely to struggle with it by themselves, fearing to get judged or alienated, because feeling pressured by the society’s mindset. The only time they consult a specialist is when they reach a critical stage and are brought to the hospital by their loved ones. Though could you believe it if I told you that there are cases where they are not brought to the hospital but brought to a traditional practitioner because unfortunately, the family thinks that it is a mystical matter, not knowing that they are preventing the patient from getting convenient and appropriate support.

Let me tell you that the situation is getting worse and worse. Since the patients are not getting proper care, there has been a growth in the number of people committing suicide, the number of murders, the number of conflicts and the number of mentally unstable homeless people. To me, this neglection is paradoxical since recent studies done by Mr. Dione and his team have shown that around eighty percent of the population suffers somehow from a mental illness. Isn’t that shocking? Fortunately, according to enqueteplus. com, the health office of Senegal is working towards better care of these psychological issues and has designed two guidelines they believe, if followed, can make a difference. One of them is to let everyone in the health workforce know about how to identify the first symptoms of any mental issue, so that the patients can get early care and later, social support from the government. I think that it is a good idea to do so. It would also be great to try to change the mentality of people here regarding mental health. We must know that running away from these people or ignoring them would be adding insult to injury. It only worsens their state. We should help them,instead, directly or indirectly.

The topic of mental health is a hot potato within the Senegalese society. It is frequently disputed but the situation is not getting any better. One idiom says, I quote “Actions speak louder than words”; Therefore, to eradicate this obnoxious situation we must act rather than always speculating.