The Chronic Pain of Fifty years and the lack of Psycho-social Counseling in South Sudan (Part I)
By David Matiop Gai, Kampala, Uganda
January 26, 2016 (SSB) — With the long suffering and pain of civil war in the Sudan, the longest civil war in Africa, millions of South Sudanese lived with different types of mental illness, and mental health problems such as alcoholic addiction, drugs addiction, personality disorder, defense mechanism or representing problems, social anxiety, insecure and fears, nightmare, survival of rape, and family dysfunctional. All these huge problems were not handled and addressed after comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) in 2005 until today in 2016.
The reasons why are demands of psycho-social counseling remained as the main factor for South Sudan today than tomorrow is because a healthy mind is life; a healthy mind is wealth, and a power point for development. Always sound-minded, mental health and physical fitness, and normality of mind are incorporate development of individuals, families, and the country. Dr. John Garang said in the past that, “Weak people represent weak government, because where will government get its resources without people?” which mean healthy people in term of brain functioning produce strong productions of government ability. It is also correct to mention that mental treatment is part of government priority when healthy minds know what to do, and not to do, and if South Sudan wants healthy people in the country, they should go along this treatment otherwise the whole nation is not healthy in mind.
In a development process, there are minor issues which are kept for next generations to deal with, but issues which are connected with mental illness, mental treatment, mental health, and traumatize can’t wait until the institutions of health and home affairs approved a clear eradication of national freedom from mental health problems.
The pain of more than four decades (1955-2005) and 15 Dec 2013 incident, after South Sudan got its independence from the Sudan has caused severest injuries in minds of South Sudanese populations. In addition, economic crises also cause mental problems where South Sudanese pounds rate of 18.5 % against 100 US dollars has also added unto surprisingly negative impacts on the existing mental illness, stress, and mental disorder caused by civil war in the years back which was not at all treated during the interim government. The stress is the beginning of madness whereas mental disorder is the highest level of confusion in which a person removes clothes on his/her body, observe by yourself the number of mad people in Juba.
After the announcement of 18.5% South Sudanese pounds as an official rate by the government against US dollars, the highest alarm of stress, and mental disorder had increased steadily on the streets of South Sudan states capitals whereas last week, six cases of suicidal committed were reported gradually from Yei River state and a high number of mad people is seen on the street of Juba city. Whenever you see a well addressed person talking to him/herself, you may ask yourself why? Because such a person is counting finger complaining for the difficulties of things “and how he/she can managed and handled this terrible situation?” This emotion has reached into worse part of stress-life events but this stress can contributes to mental disorder if there is no alternative or solution to problems.
The true traumatic problems in our nation need counseling psychologists finding themselves helping people to deal with those kinds of stress life-events which people are all in it now. You know stress develop into grief while grief is a very complicated emotion as a single “grief” itself with mixtures of all sorts of different feelings. It is actually very complicated to other people to consider themselves balancing their emotions as well as their emotion is always shifting from time to time but such a situation need professional counselors to tell people that what is happening to them should be understandable, to be expected and not something permanent.
By educating people about grief problems, there are nine (9) different types of grief affecting people physically, mentally, culturally, socially, and spiritually if they are not deal with and people who are grieving always from time to time have single denial in their lives. The components that affect us physically and mentally includes; (1) depression, (2) anxiety or panic, (3) despair, (4) disorganization, (5) chock or numbness, (6) denial, (7) guilt, (8) anger, and (9) resolution and reintegration. Grieving produce feelings of depression and despair periods where someone has lost anything and it has lead to pain mixed with mental and physical inactivity. Again periods of anxiety and panic mixed reaction with depression and a person may feels insecure and fears. If a counselor is well trained on how to solves people problems and guides them on how to deal with their problems, gradually people become strong and stronger when they hear a counselor is telling them that things will get alright at the main time or encouraging them that they are capable to manage that situation!! Because a counselor cannot give solution to problems but guide, or direct and assist people to choose rightly.
Finally, all of us have experienced and we are still experiencing different levels and layers of problems day to day lives suffering in South Sudan. In imminent cases, many things disturbing our lives or traumatic disorder recently occupied minds as well as we always deal with our internals issues wrongly. Therefore, stress, mental disorder, mental illness, and trauma need intervention of counseling psychologists to help south Sudan populations deal with their problems/difficulties and overcome them successfully. Reading to be continues in part II.
Thank you for this reading. God bless you all.
The author is co-founder of National Mental Health Care Organization; he holds Bachelor degree in Social work and social administration from SSCUST, Bachelor degree in Theology from CLT Montana USA, and student of MA in comparative social work in Cavendish University Uganda. He can be reach at tonggaid551@yahoo.com or davidmatiopgai@gmail.com.
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