African Institute for Ending Bullying Depression and Suicide (AFRIBS) will on the 4th of October 2019 between 1630 hrs and 1730 hrs pioneer a series for open discussions on mental health awareness known as “Blue Socks Movement” in Bulawayo. The series will run throughout the month, also coinciding with World Mental Health Day that is observed on the 10th of October 2019.
The series was motivated by the passing of the late senior pastor Berry Dambaza among many other undocumented cases where men are forced to commit suicide due to immediate or long term triggers.
Leading the discussion on the day in question is a clinical psychologist, Dr. T. Ndlovu, who will be joined by men aged between 18 years and 33 years. There also will be free mental health screening that will done on the sidelines of the deliberations as a mitigation measure to dealing with mental disorders at an early stage.
The series was motivated by the passing of the late senior pastor Berry Dambaza among many other undocumented cases where men are forced to commit suicide due to immediate or long term triggers.
Leading the discussion on the day in question is a clinical psychologist, Dr. T. Ndlovu, who will be joined by men aged between 18 years and 33 years. There also will be free mental health screening that will done on the sidelines of the deliberations as a mitigation measure to dealing with mental disorders at an early stage.
Over a week ago, the 23rd of September 2019, a Gospel author and senior pastor Berry Dambaza of Upper Room Ministries died after reports he had walked in on his wife. The cause of death was said to have been associated with suicide.
A local pastor whom society expects to shepherd lost souls couldn’t handle whatever could have really have been weighing down on him to a point of actually ending his dear life. Such a phenomenon is proof to how much conversations on mental health ought to be carried out as there is a chance of actually saving a life.
Men too are victims to mental illnesses and most often are exempted from such conversations as these are said to expose them to the public. The idea is that discussions about mental health awareness especially around men are self defeating within a society that is highly patriarchal.
However, there comes a time when a men or better yet a pastor gets to a breaking point and suicide becomes the only alternative to resolving an issue that is too hard to address. In the church, hardly do we have open conversations on mental health awareness. If the church does not yield to such discussions, there are chances that our pastors don’t have it sorted in taking care of their mental health.
We can not continue escaping any longer the reality that pastors get depressed and fail to cope when faced with such. In religious setups, we have reached a point where we treat our pastors as the people whom we consult when we are breaking down and not emotionally or mentally stable.
Join the “Blue Socks Movement” this Friday, 4 October 2019 as we break the stigma on Men’s Mental Health with Dr. T. Ndlovu.