Dr. Neccism Okumu, a member of Afya Care Foundation championing for mental health, has urged youths to regulate on use of social media to avoid developing mental health issues. photo: Ezzy Pixels/Afya Care Foundation.
With calls continue intensify in the country to regulate social media, Dr. Neccism Okumu, a medical officer and mental health champion at Afya Care Foundation, has called upon youths across the country to use social media properly to avoid developing mental health struggles.
Speaking during a joint health awareness with AMPATH Kenya and Afya Care, at Kongoni Vocational Training Institute in Kakamega County, Okumu said that following the activities in the social media, it has made youths vulnerable to developing mental struggles.
According to him, as they interact with fake lifestyle displayed by their peers, government policies and activities that go against their will, the vulnerable marginalized group struggles to keep up with pace, thus developing mental issues, consequently leading them to find comfort in drug and substance abuse.
“Social media is becoming a very serious cause of mental health issues among youths in universities and colleges. This is evident through their lifestyle, as they access social media, they engage with many activities including government activities, their peers as they flaunt their lifestyles, which in many cases is fake, there is also bullying these are things that make it serious when it comes to mental health issues among these students,” Okumu explained.
Okumu said that the education session is to help the future generation to develop adaptive measures and protect their mental wellbeing. Through the session they empower students with information, steps and solutions to protect them from being carried away by the pressures that comes from studies and the society.
“We are here to empower these young men and women to develop mechanisms that can cushion them from developing the pressure from economic instability, academics, from social media and other sources. We are empowering them with healthy ways to avoid developing mental issues and address their needs,” he further stated.
Afya Care Foundation is currently championing the tapping technique among students to reduce tension and anxiety, an effective technique that has been proven to reduce mental stress and tension.
The technique involves tapping from the lateral sides of the eye, towards the nose, at the cheeks, collar bones, below the diaphragms, at the chins and ending with taps on the heat an interval of 60 seconds on each tap, pronouncing words of affirmation and empowerment to oneself.
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