Psychologist urges men to speak out

Clinical psychologist associate professor Chiwoza Bandawe has said the connotation that “men don’t cry” has left some men emotionally stressed, leading to the increase in suicide cases among them.

Speaking on Thursday during a public lecture on mental health at the Catholic University in Chiradzulu, he said 85 percent of suicide cases in Malawi are males, citing financial and relationship challenges as the leading causes.

Said Bandawe: “Expressing and releasing emotions is one way of preventing depression and anxiety; hence, the need for men to speak out.

“Emotions need to be expressed, so it is important that men learn to express their feelings.”

He said statistics show that Malawi registered 116 suicides from January to August 2019 and 182 cases in the same period in 2020. This shows an increase of 57 percent and translates to one suicide every day for 24/30 days. Meanwhile, 87 suicides have been recorded from January to June 2021.

Bandawe bemoaned the lack of medical professionals on mental health, saying that Malawi has only four clinical psychologists and four psychiatrists against a population of about 19 million people.

In his remarks, Catholic University director of academic affairs Father Wilfred Sumani said issues of mental health have become a subject of concern, particularly during this Covid-19 pandemic.

“Some students are struggling to pay school fees because the breadwinners have lost jobs or died and this can lead to depression and anxiety,” he said.

The public lecture was titled Effects of Covid-19 on Mental Health.