Expert dares universities on mental health

Clinical psychologist Chiwoza Bandawe has challenged universities to address mental health issues amid rising statistics of students silently suffering from common mental disorders.

The Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) Professor of Mental Health said projections indicate that one third of students arrive at the university with symptoms of common mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety.

He said this in his keynote address at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) in Blantyre during the launch of a mental health handbook for university students.

The 38-page book, titled ‘Navigating Mental Well-Being in University Life’, has been written by former Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) journalist Bester Nyang’wa, now an employee of Mubas.

Bandawe described the handbook as an important and profound practical contribution in mental health literacy which will help to address stigma which prevents many students from seeking help when suffering from mental disorders.

He said: “Thirty-five percent of first year students worldwide report symptoms of lifetime mental disorder and one in four people will suffer from mental disorder in the course of their lifetime.

“Most of them will require professional help, unfortunately, 90 percent of students who need professional help do not seek it due to stigma. Further, 99 percent of students report severe anxiety, which, unfortunately, remains and builds up. This has serious consequences because the longer you leave it, the more serious it becomes and the pain is real.”

Bandawe also said a mental health study conducted at Kuhes in 2018 found that 58 percent of medical students had depression with 21 percent having suicidal impression (thought of ending their lives).

Nyang’wa, on the other hand, said besides personal experience with youths affected by mental health issues, the book was inspired by a study he conducted at Mubas on mental health awareness and help-seeking among university students.

He said preliminary findings of the study showed that there are high levels of academic and financial stress among university students but very low help seeking.

“The issue of stigma is primarily due to two factors; The fear of being judged as a weak character if you talk to somebody about your mental disorder and the thinking that they can solve mental health issues on their own,” said Nyang’wa.

Mubas director of students’ affairs Gertrude Sitolo said the handbook was valuable not only to students’ well-being but the society in general as mental health is steadily wrecking havoc far and wide.

“As an institution we take mental health issues seriously that is why since 2021 we have been conducting awareness campaigns having recorded an increase in mental health issues where some students have even killed themselves,” she said.

Sitolo said the handbook will amplify the university’s efforts as information on mental health has been summarised in one book.