5 Things The Rich Can Learn From The Poor To Avoid Mental Health Problems

In recent years, the issue of mental health has been promoted through different campaigns for people to understand what it means because to most of us as Tanzanians and Africans In general,

anything that won’t make you bleed or have physical pain isn’t something threatening or harmful enough as it cannot cause death or permanent injury directly,

The concept aligns perfectly with our popular Swahili sayings

“Maneno hayaui wala hayajengi ghorofa”

meaning that words cannot kill nor construct a storey implying that anything of words’ nature cannot construct nor destruct anything therefore it should be ignored,

but in reality, it indeed affects the intangible state of the human body which is the mental wellness regardless of our neglection,

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This explains why Tanzania was the fourth country In Africa with higher suicide rates recording 3001 deaths with 15-29 years being a highly affected age group in 2016 by a WHO report

also, 7 million people approximately have mental problems in Tanzania while?75% to 85% of the victims can not afford nor access the proper mental health care

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so automatically, people who are always given these kinds of therapy are always the middle to higher income earners who can access and afford such service

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To the majority of poor, this is done in form of seeking advice from the elders who are perceived to have passed through a lot in life hence they have solutions to many problems facing them, which always work

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Therefore seating with a total stranger to open up about their life’s deepest secrets and miseries isn’t reasonable because even secrecy and trust are very vital to them; ?

making it indeed foreign and incompatible with their culture.

So, basically, This isn’t even about money to the same people who can raise some money to afford different and expensive medical operations

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It is just not much of a big issue compared to the ones they have on their plates because if it were,?????????

?with all the problems they have, it would cause more suicide rates which could have pushed the government to recognize it as a threat and automatically increase the supply?of mental health services in those areas,

but that’s very far from reality which cant even happen very soon contrary to other social classes who live the lives of their dreams due to the following 5 reasons……

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1.?????Dependence on the Supernatural Power

Go down any uswazi area and ask them if they understand the word atheist or believe in the nonexistence of God,?you will be surely stoned to death by their words because

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Low-class people highly depend on God through prayers and miracles but also dark magic in solving their problems which also eases up the burden of responsibility for their actions,

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when a kid fails at school, someone bewitched him

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when one can not excel in life, he is under the spell of darkness,

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when the business is doing so bad and marital conflicts are consistently erupting, some witch doctor will tell them your mother has bewitched you

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and even when things go well, It’s not by his strength but God has opened doors for him even after decades of hardworking

in short, ?everything has a spiritual explanation with someone to blame always which remove that self-responsibility and guilty over their failures,

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?don’t get me wrong they are very hardworking people but they do all this hardworking believing that the higher power is the one which dictates their destiny which makes them less affected by the negative results of their hustles

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on the other side

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Rich people are mostly educated, exposed, and can access knowledge that shapes them to have different views about life

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“They believe in God’s blessings but their own choices and calculated risks still dictate where they go”.

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So, this strong belief in their own will and self-responsibility gives them more burden and space to punish themselves when things don’t work out since things could have been different if they made the right decision.

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This is even when they did their best but they will still search for a vacuum to blame themselves,

which leads to depression for the wrong reasons because in reality,

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?one can control the process but the results are for the world to choose regardless of our ability in influencing them

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therefore, the rich should learn to accept that there are some things they can’t control and be much fair to themselves when they give it their best.

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2. Expectations in life.

Poor people are raised in life with little and exposed to little too therefore expect less in life to acquire more happiness,

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It’s understandable though

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If you were raised in a rental house, building yours is a milestone regardless of how it looks like

If you were raised and surrounded by people who do the manual work such as carpentry and masonry, having a reasonable career and degree is a milestone worthy of endless praises

If you were raised in a house where 3 meals per day rarely occur, affording meat, Kuku, and fish as dishes, 3 times per day feels like the good life and a milestone

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Even a girl raised In poverty doesn’t expect a guy to have a decent career or house to accept him as a fit ?for marriage since having the capacity to rent a single room, fill it with stuff, and afford even two meals is enough to start a family without being visionary about the future of their kids

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all of these make a person expect less and have low standards which definitely makes every little achievement more enjoyable and brings a positive impact on their lives

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This is contrary to the other side by which having a car, house or a degree are very basic stuff,

?people expect extraordinary things which are a long term such as successful businesses, careers ad being able to travel the world to be seen as worthy of a term enjoying life

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and to most who are exposed to the world,

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dreaming of having a Hollywood lifestyle and idolizing people like Jack Ma or Elon musk seems like the epitome of happiness and success

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This makes them place higher standards and pressure on themselves to acquire more to get the fulfillment and ultimately ignore small wins which could help them to live for a moment

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?things get worse when they take longer periods to achieve and therefore place themselves in consistence stress and severe depression especially when their counterparts?excel in life ?

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It’s OK to dream big and set a huge standard of what you want to achieve in life because it’s through such kind of inspirations; innovation and development are brought by but most importantly other people’s dreams are also made possible

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Imagine how many people are employed by IPP, so many but it only started with the dreams of MR. Reginald Mengi,

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but this should not be done at the expense of appreciating life itself as a gift of nature but also celebrating minor wins which bring immense happiness.

3. Familiarity with pain and Abuse

Medically, when a body is exposed to and attacked consistently with threats such as bacteria or viruses, it automatically creates an immunity system to fight them even for a lifetime. This natural body system is known as the adaptive immunity ?and its applicable In this aspect

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poor people struggle to get anything whether it’s water, food, and comfortable shelter.

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Most of them can’t even afford to eat three meals per day which forces them to involve in work such as crimes or breaking the law just to sustain their living,

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be it matching guys or mama ntillie who are consistently chased by police and even robbers who see jails as a nice holiday to eat for free

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this consistent exposure to dangerous situations and harassment makes them view negativity or any depression as something to get used to in life daily.

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?This is also passed to the kids who always observe such kinds of things and ultimately develop a very high bar for problems worth shaking their mental system

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and even at their darkest moments, there are always senior people such as parents and siblings around to show them that life wasn’t fair to them too hence accommodating them physically and emotionally easily, ?

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therefore they always concentrate on the next step and do not get stuck by the pain of today because tomorrow is a new day that can bring a difference.

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?on the other side, things are different,

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growing up in an ocean of privileges,

pain and hustles are something very foreign and even when they manifest in their lives it will rarely be physical.. as they call them rich guy problems.

I’m not getting the right partner,

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My dad and mom never listen to what I want, they are control freaks, it depresses me

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My dad has a kid out of a marriage and they are about break up with my mom, it depresses me

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I have lost my brother??

Bottom line, I need a therapist

I understand clearly that every person has their level of handling stuff and its not something to toy around with but other problems are perpetuated by the

?“Keeping up with the Kardashians” or any other western reality Tv show which teaches kids that they need a therapist for very minor issues which could be handled by their loved ones,

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this is why rich communities are likely to face serious mental issues since they are exposed and adopt the western world ways which blow minor stuff out of proportion different from the reality of our African context.

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It’s okey to mourn and cry for help but not to a point of axaggerating things out of the eye of reality,

just becoming more realistic based on our own context will solve a lot of problems without therapy.

4. Neighborhood System

Poor people may not be able to afford proper health or life insurance from reputable companies but they have placed a system in being there for one another which assures people with proper help when they face certain problems,

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With houses without huge walls and security guards who will scare away the neighbors who want to borrow sugar or salt,

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When somebody is facing certain diseases, people with anything little will flood their homes lifting their souls and advice them on what to do to solve the issue and when it gets out ?of hand, people?may organize themselves and collect anything to help them as a society

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When someone dies, the house will be flooded with people who will arrange for the burial, women will come to cook and many also will come to a sleepover, ?this always involves postponing their work which is easy ?because most of them don’t have formal jobs

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Mind you, what you reap is what you sow, so people will attend to each other problems as a way to make a security for someone to show up in their problems too which makes them attached and available to each other for thick and thin.

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Of course ” the near neighbor is better than a sibling who is far”

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These acts together cement their relationship and therefore make people have less tension or depression in trying times?since they will always have someone around to hold and give them a sense of belongingness.

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This is contrary to richmen social system, everybody is busy and things are somehow westernized,

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When deaths or weddings happen, chefs will be hired and therefore people will come and eat, do the burial, and pay their respect only which makes it somehow hard for them to form an emotional bond which is really helpful in relieving pain and stress continuously,

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?so when someone falls, it won’t be a matter of a community but an individual and their close people which makes rich men challenged to be more solo and hence more depression

?So rich people should learn how to value informal relationships and groups even more because they are always made on the bases of brotherhood which creates an emotional bond that is necessary during the trying times,

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5. Image Protection.

In uswazi most people don’t hold powerful surnames to protect nor self titles which may condition them to behave in a specific manner

This makes them have less to lose and therefore explore this life to the fullest,

?Maybe this can explain why most household names in the entertainment and arts, in general, are from such backgrounds such as diamond platnumz, Ali Kiba, Harmonize, etc

If Diamond platnumz came from a wealthy background maybe he would be a doctor or a lawyer since in wealthy communities one background is important in creating their future but most importantly their identity,

so he wouldn’t be supported to quit schooling to pursue his journey which later created the WCB empire for himself the and music industry

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?living in this kind of world where something acts as your shadow and dictate how you should behave, what you should like, where you should go or which company to put closer to,just to match your parent’s status,

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This unavoidably lead to an identity crisis which results in the endless inner wars hence severe lack of happiness, fulfillment, and therefore depression

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therefore kids should be left with some kind of independence to explore their true selves instead of using their parent’s names to turn them into the imposters of their own lives

with all these what should be done to change the current system

its simple, we have to get back to our roots,

Do you remember, When we were young going to the village each holliday

the tradition which the Chagas still uphold to date,

remember how it exposed us to the roots of our parent’s origin, traditions, and inspiring stories like how they survived all the hindrances to build all the luxuries and privileges we dive into,

most importantly, how it exposed us to the other side of the world which we rarely experience in our daily lives,

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The humble shelter, food, and neighborhood, seeing people living happily in an environment where we can rarely be satisfied but with the presence and support from our siblings, we could live through anything happily

it instills us with principles of the brotherhood and sees life as diverse and not something which should be lived or approached in a specific manner.

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?All of these built us to see life as unpredictable and something can happen anytime and so we should always get used to the wide range of lives.

This helped us to see things like delayals, failures, patience, and hopes through the eyes of those who idolized the town lives of our parents, as the best ingredients in life.

To see the beauty of life in every situation and not quantify the tangible aspect of life as a gateway to happiness because it can also be found in the dissatisfaction and ugliest corner of our lives

All these built us to be who we are today and I wish for those who can still practice, it's a really necessary act

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And on the daily bases

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A parent should set a system for kids to learn how to struggle from a young age, for instance when they need something which is not necessary then give them a task to fulfill in return. This will teach them the basics of exchange which Is a core of life and make them less lazielazymore responsible

encourage them to join charity movements,

not these fancy charities where people pop champagne to raise funds,

the real charities in villages or unstable areas to donate something..

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if they will learn that even the sugar they put in their chai to some is a dream come true and luxury, then they will see life from a different perspective,

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not in a manner of treating their privileges as unnecessary spending but when they face a certain problem it will toughen them up to endure since they know ?someone somewhere lives with something worse every day

I Always applaud the JKT initiative which is like the modern Jando and Unyago.

though I wish for it to be modernized a bit to suit the demands of a current generation in terms of activities but one thing is for sure it kills the sense of individuality, superiority complex and teaches kids what life is .. toughening them up mentally and emotionally to handle negativity

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Because every campaign nowadays which instills them with the perception that people should be polite for them to live a comfortable life makes them even way more fragile and vulnerable,

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The world has always been a battleground for the weak and strong, a park full of diverse animals by which some like lions need to make envelopes to live in fear for them to survive, therefore a prey should be taught how to protect and stand for themselves and not to be protected unrealistically.

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