Mental health

 FROM A MANNERLESS KID’S POINT OF VIEW. 

by Thabiti Jeanette Orpah.

 I am pretty pro- Gen Z…Well, that’s partly because I’m part of it but mostly because I believe in us. Traditional thinkers consider us to be an incredibly wild lot or as a Kenyan mama would say, “mannerless kids.” I know quite a several people who hold the same thought and if you’re one, brace yourselves…I might piss you off quite a bit with this article… I am fascinated by our mannerlessness; the very nature that warrants us to be somewhat callous in our questioning of everything, policies, and systemic inconsistencies. We are a generation that has taken a keen interest in all matters of mental health to the point where we are constantly seeking to not only educate but also be educated about issues concerning the mind. People have called us a ‘soft generation’ and that is owing to the high numbers of suicides we keep recording but I don’t think that’s the case. You see, speaking as a girl with African parents, I know for a fact that they were born with a mindset that over-romanticized the concept of suffering. No one gave two pieces of crap about how children felt at the time so they basically walked on eggshells throughout their childhoods. We are a different breed! A more self-aware one. We do not condone any form of treatment that surpasses what a decent human being is supposed to go through and no one is exempted from this. Including the good ol’ family members who we have started normalizing cutting off (a development I strongly support). We are loud, in the sense that we are not afraid to talk back and ask questions even in spaces where tradition would demand that you shut up and nod yes to everything the “experienced grown-up” says. The generations before us are pretty damaged and it doesn’t always look like so but trust my word. Ever heard about the people who make comments such as, “why are you stressed when you don’t have bills or fees to take care of?” What about those ones that raise their boys by telling them “men do not cry” …These are just a few of some famous utterances made by our folks and to them, it is very normal. They grew up thinking that mental health issues were selective, a very dangerous mindset. That’s the thing with toxic generational cycles though, they are very hard to break and we, the mannerless kids are causing a shift. My take is that our minds are pretty sensitive to any discomforting changes and emotions we go through because we can identify (and I do not mean self-diagnosing) instances of anxiety, depression, mental breakdowns, panic attacks, and yada yada yada! Sometimes we project the older generation’s mindset to ourselves by dismissing our own problems and mind-bogglers. The truth is that a small problem can become a big one too. There is no petty problem from a failed exam, a cheating partner, an unpaid debt, a pregnancy scare, an unrequited love (those ones are the worst! Yuck!), a lost bet, all the way to an incomplete assignment and low self-esteem, you name it. These are some of our problems and we need to face them and call them out! If you sleep and get up still having it in your head…talk about it. There is always someone and if in the capacity to do so, be that someone. Check on your friends and be wary of the things you say and do to others. I am a filmmaker, we usually have mouthfuls of things to say but because of time, I’m gonna say Cheers to the “mannerless Gen Z” that questions stuff. Let’s keep doing that and protecting our energies from people who threaten our mental peace. SPEAK UP! It’s adios from us! Sending peace, love, and light