Behind the Smiles: The Unseen Mental Struggles of University Students in Kenya
Happy graduands smile for a selfie during a graduation ceremony
In recent years, the emotional and mental well-being of college students in Kenya has become a rising issue. Many silently cope with stress, anxiety, depression and emotional fatigue as learners struggle against the pressures of academic achievement, financial situations, social pressures, and little mental health support.
Behind the smiles and laughter that characterizes campus life, more young people are finding it hard to keep pace, both mentally and emotionally.
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In most institutions of higher learning in the country, there is a lack of adequate counselling service, or systemized mental health programme. Consequently, most students have been left alone to deal with their own psychological problems.
According to a study conducted by Pwani University, it was found out that about 31 percent of the students are affected by some kind of mental illness and the first-year students and students in their fourth year are at higher risk. The report shows that there is an urgent need to implement age sensitive, student-centred intervention involving family involvement and better access to mental health insurance and counselling services.
Difficulties of studying abroad
To a group of students, studying overseas brings new experiences and opportunities-but has a cost of emotion. Prudence Juma, a Kenyan pursuing Computer Science in Malaysia reports that she decided to study abroad to have international exposure and test her intellect. But she soon realized that adaptation to a new environment was not a simple task.
Going out was an emotional burden. I found myself feeling very comfortable in Kenya with family and friends. Loneliness and isolation became a part of my life abroad, Juma says.
To cope with her mental health, she started having purposeful breaks and having a small circle of people she can confide in. According to Juma, in Malaysia, there are more readily available mental health resources than in Kenya. There are professional-run counselling centers, mental health weeks, workshops and seminars. Stigma and support are less, she says, and in Kenya, such services are few or absent in most institutions.
The Campus Struggle
Similar sentiments are echoed by Brian Otieno, a 23-year old third year student at Kisii. According to him mental health problems are not usually discussed in Kenyan universities but there are a number of students who are silently struggling. There are days when tasks, tests, school bills and family obligations all get on top of it. However, we do not speak about it much because people are afraid of being judged or misinterpreted, he explains.
Otieno thinks peer support is a possibility, yet opines that we have a long way to go before mental health discussions become the norm on campuses. He notes that there must be more awareness, more trained counsellors and systems that will reassure students that they need not be afraid to seek help.
Academic and emotional demands
Dr. Magdalene Gesare, a lecturer in the Institute of Gender and Development Studies at Egerton University, has been paying close attention to the changing mental health trends among students. She adds that the most typical struggles are anxiety, depression, gambling, substance abuse, and low self-esteem-with suicidal thoughts sometimes taking place.
Students are struggling to keep up with a rising cost of living, trying to fit into social classes or live to societal expectations. It is a big weight to bear, she says.
In order to alleviate these issues, Dr. Gesare says that most universities have counselling departments in the office of the Dean of Students. These units frequently support peer support groups and personal therapy sessions. In her teaching, she aims to equip students not only with careers, but also with life outside campus. We attempt to introduce real life experiences by way of internships and attachments. It is because mental health has become a new issue in academia, she notes.
Dr. Gesare also remarks a disturbing tendency of impatience between younger generations. Nonetheless, she is hopeful that as the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum in Kenya gains more traction in university systems, future graduates will be in a better position to address life challenges mentally and emotionally.
Institutional Interventions and the Way Forward
Prof. Maurice O. Okoth, the former Vice Chancellor of Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) has also reported an upsurge in the frequency and complexity of cases of mental illnesses among the students. At first, he says, the case work was mostly based on issues of academic stress or first-year adjustment. However, now, financial difficulties, family-life issues, substance abuse, and the impact of social media have aggravated the mental health of students.
Prof. Okoth, in his time at the helm of KeMU, spearheaded a number of initiatives to meet these difficulties such as the establishment of a Counselling and Wellness Centre equipped with professional psychologists and trained peer counsellors. He supports a comprehensive approach to the well-being of students: one that incorporates equitable academic assignments, the presence of financial aid, digital literacy training, and wellness days.
He concludes that academic success and mental health need to be independent of each other.
With the growth and development of universities in Kenya, mental health no longer can be kept in the shadows, and so the experts and students alike are in agreement that the issue needs to be spoken on and addressed. Creating an environment of support and open dialogue, professional counselling and self-care is not the wish anymore, it is the requirement of the following generation of leaders and innovators in the country.
