Khisa-A mental health champion (Lived experience leadership Part2)

If beauty meets brains was a person her name would be Khisa; and I mean every description of beautiful that has ever been put forward, you only need to spend 10 minutes with her to feel her young and refreshing energy. The older women can comfortably say they have done a good job raising a generation and can retire with a smile. Free certified WHO training

See Khisa's journey as a lived experienced leader.

I started my journey in mental health when I was a young girl. I had my first panic attack at 5 years old and my first diagnosis of depression 12 years later. I realized later that I had struggled with depression and anxiety several times during those 12 years. Before I got diagnosed, I had been in a full-blown depressive period for close to a whole year.

After my diagnosis, I decided to share my experience of mental health with others and educate them about mental health. The effort has allowed me to work with Time To Change(TTC) Global in collaboration with Basic Needs Basic Rights (BNBR) Kenya as a mental health advocate known as a ‘CHAMPION’ The programme encourages us take our power back by ending stigma and discrimination against people living with mental health problems. It has helped to open me up to greater healing and acceptance of mental health conditions.

I am now able to interact with other people who go through what I once went through, now understand that most of the traumas we face in life are by-products of neglected mental health problems and illnesses. I am now able to notice the early signs of a mental health problem and I am in a better position to reach out to someone experiencing poor mental health.

The TTC global initiative has opened my eyes to the various methods of self-care that can help improve mental health. Through the programme I have come to find out that there is a lack of proper information on mental health and this contributes to the stigma and discrimination associated with poor mental health. Through the initiative I have come to understand that speaking up about mental health is the surest way to end the stigma, thus create more safe spaces for anyone who might be going through a hard time.

I can gladly say that the statistics concerning mental health are getting better in Kenya and worldwide which means, we are headed in the right direction which is creating a world that takes care of mental health, as well as body health. I am more at peace with my experiences and more capable of creating the reality I want. I am now the master of my own life and the writer of my own story. I have not had a relapse into depression and can count on myself not to feel anxious about anything in life.