Mental health conversations are new to Africa, and that may sound true. However, what most people do not know is that Africa has an interesting indigenous history of mental health. This history outlines several ways in which Africans handled mental health issues. The fact that they are so different from what we hear about today is why people may easily want to dismiss them.
Nevertheless, African mental health is not a new conversation. In the past, several indigenous African mental health practices helped people cope with mental health challenges. From traditional rites of passage to storytelling to the use of native healers, African mental health has seen a large number of coping mechanisms throughout history.
Traditional Healing Practices and Their Role in Mental Health
In the past, and even in many places in the present, people in Africa make use of indigenous healers, herbal remedies and spiritual practices. They do this as a means of trying to cope with mental health problems. These indigenous African mental health practices may have varying degrees of effectiveness. While people may doubt the effectiveness of some of them, people have seen where others worked. A lot of times, mental health problems are internal issues which an individual can fight from within. Sometimes, all they need is something to reassure them of their well-being.
These traditional African coping mechanisms provide just that. That is why people visit indigenous healers, and after some time, they believe they’ve been healed. Mostly because they started feeling better. Spiritual practices have a way of working on the minds of people, too. Because they believe these things work, they’re more likely going to develop positive outlooks on them. This alone can reassure people going through mental health challenges of well-being. People still argue whether these indigenous African mental health practices have solved African mental health problems more often than not. Nevertheless, they remain valid coping mechanisms for a lot of people.
Community Support Systems and Collective Coping
We cannot ignore the existence of families, clans and other communal networks within these societies. These systems offer strong emotional and psychological support to people who are part of them. Unlike the increasing trend of individualism in modern society, these African systems emphasized more communal ways of life. This means that it is rare to find anyone all by themselves. People always had families, clans, age grades, and other community groups that helped them cope with emotional and psychological challenges.
Age grades, for example, have lots of selfless activities benefiting their communities and each member. It was customary for the association to visit any member who was struggling. Also, due to their activeness, members had a lot to do, which can help ease emotional stress. These age groups organized dances, games, festivals and so on. Families and clans are included, too. These units are always closely knit. This means that each family or clan member has a large network of related people to depend on in times of struggle.
Rites of Passage and Mental Resilience
Another hallmark of traditional African society is the existence of several rites of passage. These rites and ceremonies accompanying them promote a sense of belonging to the community for participants. It’s usually difficult to feel left out when you have all of these rites to show you how much value the community sees in you. African cultures also emphasized mental resilience through their philosophies. These philosophies are always channelled through the art of storytelling, moonlight plays, etc. It is not difficult to see why these are classified as indigenous African mental health practices or traditional African coping mechanisms. This is because they can be great tools for relieving emotional and psychological stress. They also help people worry less and teach them to be more practical and mentally resilient.
Cultural Beliefs and the Perception of Mental Health
Of course, it’s not all good and beautiful with African mental health and the indigenous African mental health practices. There are some downsides, too. For example, some communities saw certain mental illnesses as curses or unnatural illnesses. People who suffered from these sorts of illnesses also suffered abandonment or casual ostracism. This happened as a result of the limited information on mental health issues and awareness. However, a lot of this is changing in modern times. Better mental health awareness and the advancement in psychological studies in Africa have made it possible for many of these old ideas to evaporate. There’s still a long way to go in that regard, though.
Many of these traditional African coping mechanisms and indigenous African mental health practices still exist and are still relevant today. However, some others are increasingly being abandoned, especially harmful practices. African mental health still has a long way to go. This will require more attention to peculiar circumstances in Africa and more mental health awareness.
