LAUGH OFTEN because it’s a therapy for the soul.
LIVE WELL for your health is your wealth.
LOVE MUCH and worry less, for life is too short to worry about things you cannot control. #skpositivevibes

I write on the above topic based on a personal reflection for the period that I have lived in Canberra. It is my attempt to bring to the fore certain challenges that have inhibited access to mental health service support among our African communities in Canberra. I arrived in Canberra in 2013 as an international student and I have since remained permanently following completion of my studies. As an international student, I faced many hurdles which affected my mental health and wellbeing. Some of these difficulties included:

- culture shock — having to learn about my new country/environment and the struggles that come with it.

- not having any family relations during the initial stages of living in Canberra to connect with. My wife and son joined me after a year and a half, and they have since had their own share of experiences related to migrating to a new city.

- weather complexities — I moved from a humid country to experience different weather.

- limited work opportunities because of limited Australian work experience — most companies prefer people with Australian experiences and as a new migrant with no work experience, I needed to start from somewhere — working as an automotive detailer and working my way out to my current position — social worker.

You might inquire about why I am opening up now about my experiences regarding access to mental health services and observation of our communities’ overall access to mental health support? Well, there are multitudes of personal reasons that have accounted for the long wait, but for this short piece, I will limit myself to just a few ones.

First, I was not in the right frame of mind because of the stress associated with school and work commitments. I found myself at one stage in my journey, where I had to work many hours of shifts to support my family and save enough to pay for my tuition fees. We spent over AU$ 90,000 on tuition fees alone within a spate of 4 years not considering other expenses incurred.

Second, the anxiety and difficulties associated with applying for our residency visas significantly affected my physical and mental health as I had sleepless night practicing IELTS materials. Our application was approved 10 months after it was submitted. Just so you know, I did not seek any mental health support during this period, for fear of being tagged within the community as someone with a mental health condition. But in hindsight, I feel I needed to seek an early intervention to cope through the tough periods of my journey.

Little is said and/or discussed regarding mental health concerns in most African countries and Ghana in particular. This situation has led most of the population to keep to themselves whenever experiencing mental health issues, due to the stigma associated with it. For families who are alleged to have and/or have been identified as having an immediate family member diagnosed with mental health disorder, their experiences go beyond just stigma. Most are victimised and are even prevented from having any form of association with other families within the community. Some of these behaviours have been noted within our African communities in Canberra. Thus, those who are suspected to have mental health concerns have remained silent about it and readily seek early intervention to deal with the situation.

Certain factors that have accounted for the surge in these behaviours in our communities include, but are not limited to:

- subtle stigma/discrimination among community members towards families affected by mental health concerns. This behaviour reinforces depressing consequences for affected person such as;

• significant loss of self esteem
• self-stigmatization
• lack of and/or reduced job opportunities
• social exclusion
• lower quality of life
• limited help-seeking behaviours

- lack of mental health education among our African communities.

- cultural/traditional beliefs associated to people affected by mental health conditions. For example, most Africans have this ingrained belief that people affected by mental health disorders are punishment from the gods for wrongdoing or punishment to the family for a crime committed by a member of the family.

- limited application of culturally responsive practices towards African communities.

- pressures from relations back home(original country) and work commitments. In most cases, demands from family relations to support them and work commitments have prevented individuals and families from accessing mental health support to promote their mental health and wellbeing.

- Religion. Many religious organizations back home and overseas rarely talked with and/or educate their members about mental health concerns; however, they are quick to associate it to the work of the devil and thus try to address it from a religious perspective, which most times fails miserably.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned factors hindering adequate access to mental health services. There are equally some practical solutions, I believe can help to strengthen our approach to mental health services in our communities. Some of these solutions include the need:

- to encourage African community members to seek early intervention for mental health concerns.

- to establish systematic, targeted mental health education within our communities. For example, members within our various African community organizations with mental health backgrounds/experiences could organize activities/programs on mental health and use this occasion as a platform to provide opportunities to share knowledge on mental health to promote the wellbeing of members.

- to provide ongoing training and education to mental health service providers on culturally responsive practices.

- for religious groupings within our African communities to set certain days/months aside to discuss all things mental health.

Mental health illnesses/disorders are respecters of no one, as we are all susceptible to it. We must, therefore, be intentional in talking to create awareness about it wherever we find ourselves to foster better appreciation for our mental health and wellbeing.

For the 39 years of life I have lived so far, my family has exhibited love and afforded me endless opportunities to thrive. I am the last of six children. And growing up, I had the best of everything, with my mother’s meagre salary. My mother took the bull by the horns to manage this situation by selling taro leaves. And she would get drenched with early morning dew while trekking to our family farm for this local vegetable.

My mother has lived her life as a widow. She never remarried after the passing of our father and I do not recollect having any conversations with her about her decision to remain unmarried. However, I sense she made this choice purposely by prioritising the needs of her children above herself. I am eternally grateful to her for raising us with love, compassion, and above all, instilling in us an appreciation for life and respect for everyone in our walk of life. Even though she did not have a luxurious life while growing up, she gave us the best upbringing.

During my early months overseas as an international student, I faced financial difficulties with tuition fees payment. My mother stood by my side and contributed the little she received from her pension to support my fees and my upkeep. My mother has consistently kept me in her prayers since I was born and continues to do the same for success in all my endeavours. Words cannot express how much my mother means to me. The support and kindness she’s shown to me over the years cannot be underestimated.

For those from the western part of Africa, specifically, Ghana, being the last born implies that you get the absolute best of everything in the family. This preferential treatment leads to enmity among siblings in some families but I did not experience this in my family. I suppose the age differences among my siblings might have played a role in preventing any animosity in the family. For example, the age difference between my elder brother and myself is fifteen years. Hence, there is this natural tendency for him and my sisters to see me as the “last born” or “baby” of the family. And they did not bother about the “special” treatment our mother endorsed while growing up.

My senior brother has been my father figure while growing up. His encouragement and advice about the need to have a purpose in this life has been awe-inspiring. Landing my first job as a film processor in a photography company was through his initiative. While awaiting an offer of university admission, he kept a roof over my head, as well as contributed immensely to my tertiary education. He paid for my first-year tuition fees and got me all the required university supplies. He was the initiator of my sojourn to this beautiful country — Australia, for further studies, and I have since remained here permanently following completion of my studies. I owe him a great deal of gratitude for all the support he has provided for me over the years and made me who I am today.

If my memory serves me right, I met my uncle for the first time during a church convention that took place in the town in which he was living. My mum’s church used to organise these conventions annually to win souls for Christ and I had attended a couple of such with her. From the moment I met him, I knew straight away the semblance he had with my late father. I stayed connected with him regularly after this first contact. I remember that whenever I got wind of his presence in our city to visit my late aunty, I would try to catch up with him. During my university break, I visited and spent time with him. I have also gone on a long journey with him to visit my senior brother in another city. While preparing for my studies in Australia, he supplied documents (bank statements/statutory declaration) to ease my visa application and then gifted me USD$500 as seed money for my travel which I used to buy my first laptop.

I was absent during his funeral rites in October 2016, three years into my education. It is difficult to travel during semester periods. The amount of money involved to buy an air ticket because of the limits on hours you can work as an international student affects your chances of visiting home regularly. I sometimes feel grief-stricken when I think of my inability to have visited and paid him my last respect during his memorial service but I look forward to the day to appreciate him. He did a lot for me and I plan to visit his tombstone to thank him while visiting home for holidays.

My sisters and extended family members have also played significant roles in my life. I am eternally grateful for all the support they have afforded me on this journey of life.

Beyond Words: Thank you! My Family. was originally published in The Oracle Africa on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Others have told me people affected by mental health disorders are “weird, dangerous people, threats to the community….” I have experienced stigmatizing behaviours some people exhibit towards those affected by mental health concerns, thus inhibiting appropriate mental health care, treatment, and support. Following from a careful self-reflection, I understand people who have deep misconceptions about mental health issues from a perspective that suggests that:

· they have limited insight and/or judgement about mental health clients and issues.

· they have not been exposed to any mental health episodes and how such occurrences foster excessive stress on caregivers and significant others involved with people affected by mental illness.

· they have not read and/or learn about mental health disorders.

· they exhibit sheer ignorance around all things mental health.

· they have formed an opinion based on perhaps an unpleasant experience encountered with a mental health client.

· they have stigmatizing tendencies to look down on people affected by mental health disorders.

How can I, as an individual mental health worker? Together with those who also find themselves in this field, including our community, do, to help in educating people about the need to have a better appreciation for mental health? I believe as a society, we can collectively help to educate and strengthen people about mental health through ongoing targeted education in our schools, churches, mosques, places of work, and communities. To minimize the negative perceptions about this field. I believe our consistent approach to mental health education through the aforementioned areas, will provide people affected by mental health conditions and their families with resources to:

· promote timely and intervention for the management of mental health conditions.

· allow for active participation of mental health clients in the provision of treatment, care, and support.

· enhance judicious use of resources (family time/efforts, financial, work, social life) regarding families involved with clients.

· facilitate adequate support from family and friends and significant others for better treatment outcomes.

· reduced appearance and/or admission to medical facilities for treatment, care, and support.

· promote efficient use of health resources.

· promote optimum use of health resources for better mental health outcomes.

We are all in this together to promote better mental health education outcomes for our communities.