Caribbean Voice gearing to raise mental health awareness through strategic workshops

Jul 11, 2018 News

“We condemn that which we do not understand.” This has been the notion embraced by National Coordinating Director of The Caribbean Voice [TCV], Mr. Nazim S. Hussain, as he considered the impact of substance abuse on mental health.
Substance abuse has been found to be one of the key contributors to mental instability, said Hussain, as he stressed the need to sensitise as many members of the public as possible to understand the link.
It is for this reason that Hussain has taken the initiative, through TCV, to convene workshops targeting key stakeholders in the society.

Behavioural Change Coach, Shirvington Hannays

TCV National Coordinating Director, Nazim S. Hussain

Among those who will be targeted for the workshops, the first of which is slated to commence tomorrow, are Social Workers attached to the Ministry of Social Protection’s Childcare and Protection Agency [CPA], officers of the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Police Force, among other officials.
Hussain disclosed that while those attached to the CPA are normally tasked with recognizing the issues that could lead to mental illness, the other targeted participants could also help to lend their support to, simply by employing a greater degree of empathy. But empathy can only be utilized if these individuals have an appreciation for the circumstances [such as substance abuse] that can lead to mental instability, Hussain asserted.
Hussain highlighted that once under the influence, “they may not want to respect authority; they won’t respond kindly to questions, because they are on a high.” As such he noted that “those exposed to training will be able to empathize, so that they understand that this person is inebriated and then they will be able to use techniques to deal with them…”
In addition to Hussain, who is an Anti-Suicide/Violence Advocate, the planned workshops will be facilitated by renowned officials the likes of Canadian Certified Addiction Counselor and Behavioural Change Coach, Mr. Shirvington Hannays, and United Kingdom-trained Nurse and TCV Training and Education Director, Ms. Leslyn R. Holder.
According to Hussain, “with the addiction discussion, you get to understand the mind-set of the person…what could cause a person to become addicted…and it is not only the persons who are drinking and driving on the roads, but drugs are even getting into the prison system.”
He added, “If prison officers can understand how these people are thinking and how they could react and how you can help them, you would have done a national good. When officers have that training, it helps them to improve how they do their job and it helps this country too.”
As such, Hussain emphasized that spreading the word about the importance of mental health training cannot be confined to selected factions of the society but across the board. For this reason, the TCV Coordinating Director said, “we want to help the participants to understand the factors which may predispose people to suicide, violence and mental illness, and addiction is one of those factors.”
“All of us will not end up being psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors and so, but the focus is to create more awareness. With more awareness we will be able to get more people involved to understand mental illness,” said Hussain.
Among the known manifestation of mental illness, which some people may not even be aware of, could be sleep apnea [a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts] and even anxiety which, Hussain said, has been known to be a major trigger of suicide.
“What has happened in Guyana is that for too long we have not been doing anything about these mental illnesses and there have been too many myths attached to mental illness,” Hussain added. He, however, noted that like any illness, “if mental illness goes on untreated it gets worse. So when we become more aware of our condition, others’ condition and where they can get counseling and training, that will make what we are doing more vital.”
The first workshop will kick off tomorrow [July 12] in the CPA boardroom and another will follow on Thursday July 17 in the Boardroom of the Suddie Hospital.
According to Hussain, Region Two is viewed as a hot spot for the issue being addressed. The final workshop will be held at the Fort Wellington Primary School on Friday, July 19, 2018 which will see TCV collaborating with the Berbice Cricket Board to target youths.

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