There's no shame in taking care of your mental health | Sangu Delle

Prevoditelj: Ante Šimović Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Last year ...

Prošla godina...

was hell.

je bila pakao.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It was my first time eating Nigerian "jollof."

Prvi put sam jeo Nigerijski "jollof."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Actually, in all seriousness,

Zapravo, najozbiljnije,

I was going through a lot of personal turmoil.

Prolazio sam kroz puno unutarnjih nemira.

Faced with enormous stress,

Suočen sa izuzetnim stresom,

I suffered an anxiety attack.

Doživio sam napad tjeskobe.

On some days, I could do no work.

Nekim danima, ne bih mogao raditi.

On other days,

Drugim danima,

I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry.

Htio sam samo ležati u krevetu i plakati.

My doctor asked if I'd like to speak with a mental health professional

Moj doktor pitao me bi li htio razgovarati sa stručnjakom za psihičko zdravlje

about my stress and anxiety.

o mom stresu i tjeskobi.

Mental health?

Psihičko zdravlje?

I clammed up and violently shook my head in protest.

Povukao sam se u sebe i silovito odmahivao glavom u znak protesta

I felt a profound sense of a shame.

Osjećao sam dubok osjećaj srama.

I felt the weight of stigma.

Osjetio sam težinu stigme.

I have a loving, supportive family

Imam obitelj koja me voli i podržava,

and incredibly loyal friends,

i nevjerovatno odane prijatelje,

yet I could not entertain the idea of speaking to anyone

a opet, nisam mogao pojmiti da ikome govorim

about my feeling of pain.

o mojoj boli.

I felt suffocated by the rigid architecture

Osjećao sam da me guši rigidna arhitektura

of our African masculinity.

naše Afričke muževnosti.

"People have real problems, Sangu.

"Ljudi imaju stvarne probleme, Sangu.

Get over yourself!"

Saberi se!"

The first time I heard "mental health,"

Kad sam prvi put čuo izraz "psihičko zdravlje,"

I was a boarding school student fresh off the boat from Ghana,

Bio sam student na razmjeni, došao sa broda iz Gane

at the Peddie School in New Jersey.

u Školu Peddie u New Jersey-u

I had just gone through the brutal experience

Baš sam bio prošao kroz brutalno iskustvo

of losing seven loved ones in the same month.

u kojem sam izgubio sedam bliskih osoba u istom mjesecu.

The school nurse,

Školska medicinska sestra,

concerned about what I'd gone through -- God bless her soul --

zabrinuta zbog toga kroz što sam prošao -- Bog je blagoslovio --

she inquired about my mental health.

raspitivala se za moje psihičko zdravlje.

"Is she mental?" I thought.

"Je li ona luda?" pomislio sam

Does she not know I'm an African man?

Ne zna li ona da sam Afrikanac?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Like Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart,"

Kao Okonkwo u "Things Fall Apart,"

we African men neither process nor express our emotions.

mi Afrički muškarci ne doživljavamo niti izražavamo naše osjećaje.

We deal with our problems.

Mi se suočavamo s našim problemima.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

We deal with our problems.

Mi se suočavamo s našim problemima.

I called my brother and laughed about "Oyibo" people -- white people --

Nazvao sam brata i smijao se "Oyibo" ljudima --bijelcima--

and their strange diseases --

i njihovim čudnim bolestima --

depression, ADD and those "weird things."

depresija, poremećaj pažnje i takve "čudne stvari."

Growing up in West Africa,

Odrastajući u Zapadnoj Africi,

when people used the term "mental," what came to mind was a madman

kad bi ljudi koristili termin "psihičko," na pamet bi padao luđak

with dirty, dread-locked hair,

sa prljavom kosom u dredloksima,

bumbling around half-naked on the streets.

koji bi teturao polugol po ulicama.

We all know this man.

Svi znamo tog čovjeka.

Our parents warned us about him.

Naši su nas roditelji upozorili na njega.

"Mommy, mommy, why is he mad?"

"Mama, mama, zašto je on lud?"

"Drugs!

"Droga!

If you even look at drugs, you end up like him."

Ako samo pogledaš drogu, završit ćeš kao on."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Come down with pneumonia,

Dobiješ li upalu pluća,

and your mother will rush you to the nearest hospital

majka će te odvesti u najbližu bolnicu

for medical treatment.

na liječenje.

But dare to declare depression,

Ali usudi se reći da imaš depresiju

and your local pastor will be driving out demons

i tvoj lokalni svećenik će istjerivati demone

and blaming witches in your village.

i kriviti vještice u tvom selu.

According to the World Health Organization,

Prema Svjetskoj Zdravstvenoj Organizaciji,

mental health is about being able to cope

psihičko zdravlje je sposobnost da se nosite

with the normal stressors of life;

sa normalnim stresom u životu;

to work productively and fruitfully;

raditi produktivno i plodonosno;

and to be able to make a contribution to your community.

i da možeš pridonijeti svojoj zajednici.

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being.

Psihičko zdravlje podrazumjeva emocionalnu psihološku i društvenu dobrobit.

Globally, 75 percent of all mental illness cases

Na globalnoj razini, 75 posto svih slučajeva psihičke bolesti

can be found in low-income countries.

se može naći u zemljama sa niskim prihodima.

Yet most African governments

A opet, većina Afričkih vlada

invest less than one percent of their health care budget

ulaže manje od jedan posto njihova proračuna za zdravstvo

in mental health.

u psihičko zdravlje.

Even worse,

Čak i gore,

we have a severe shortage of psychiatrists in Africa.

imamo manjak psihijatara u Africi.

Nigeria, for example, is estimated to have 200 --

Npr. Nigerija, ih po procjeni ima 200 --

in a country of almost 200 million.

u zemlji sa više od 200 milijuna ljudi.

In all of Africa,

U cijeloj Africi,

90 percent of our people lack access to treatment.

90 posto naših ljudi nema pristupa liječenju

As a result,

Kao rezultat,

we suffer in solitude,

Patimo u samoći,

silenced by stigma.

utišani stigmom.

We as Africans often respond to mental health with distance,

Mi kao Afrikanci često odgovaramo na psihičko zdravlje sa distancom,

ignorance,

neznanjem,

guilt,

krivnjom,

fear

strahom

and anger.

i bijesom.

In a study conducted by Arboleda-Flórez,

U istraživanju koju je napravila Arboleda-Florez,

directly asking, "What is the cause of mental illness?"

na direktno pitanje, "Što je uzrok psihičke bolesti?"

34 percent of Nigerian respondents cited drug misuse;

34 posto Nigerijskih ispitanika je navelo zlouporabu droga;

19 percent said divine wrath and the will of God --

19 posto je reklo pravednički gnjev i volja Božja --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

12 percent,

12 posto,

witchcraft and spiritual possession.

vradžbine i opsjednuća.

But few cited other known causes of mental illness,

Ali nekolicina je navela druge poznate uzroke psihičke bolesti,

like genetics,

poput genetike,

socioeconomic status,

društveno ekonomskog statusa,

war,

rata,

conflict

sukoba

or the loss of a loved one.

ili gubitka voljene osobe.

The stigmatization against mental illness

Stigmatizacija protiv psihičke bolesti

often results in the ostracizing and demonizing of sufferers.

često rezultira proganjanjem i demoniziranjem bolesnika.

Photojournalist Robin Hammond has documented some of these abuses ...

Fotoreporter Robin Hammond je zabilježio neka od ovih zlostavljanja ...

in Uganda,

u Ugandi,

in Somalia,

u Somaliji,

and here in Nigeria.

i ovdje, u Nigeriji.

For me,

Za mene,

the stigma is personal.

stigma je osobna stvar.

In 2009,

2009.,

I received a frantic call in the middle of the night.

Dobio sam mahnit telefonski poziv usred noći.

My best friend in the world --

Moj najbolji prijatelj na svijetu ---

a brilliant, philosophical, charming, hip young man --

briljantan, filozof, šarmantan, moderan mladi čovjek --

was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

je dobio dijagnozu shizofrenije.

I witnessed some of the friends we'd grown up with recoil.

Posvjedočio sam da su se neki prijatelji s kojima smo odrasli užasavali.

I heard the snickers.

Čuo sam podsmijeh.

I heard the whispers.

Čuo sam šaputanje.

"Did you hear he has gone mad?"

"Jesi li čuo da je poludio?"

(Kru English) "He has gone crazy!"

"Pošizio je!"

Derogatory, demeaning commentary about his condition --

Uvredljivi, ponižavajući komentari o njegovoj bolesti --

words we would never say about someone with cancer

riječi koje nikad ne bismo rekli o nekom tko ima rak

or someone with malaria.

ili oboljelome od malarije.

Somehow, when it comes to mental illness,

Nekako, kad se pojavi psihička bolest,

our ignorance eviscerates all empathy.

naše neznanje izbriše svu empatiju.

I stood by his side as his community isolated him,

Bio sam uz njega dok ga je njegova zajednica izolirala,

but our love never wavered.

ali naša ljubav se nikad nije pokolebala.

Tacitly, I became passionate about mental health.

Prešutno, strastveno sam se zainteresirao za psihičko zdravlje.

Inspired by his plight,

Inspiriran njegovim stanjem,

I helped found the mental health special interest alumni group

Pomogao sam osnovati interesnu grupu bivših psihičkih bolesnika

at my college.

na mom fakultetu.

And during my tenure as a resident tutor in graduate school,

I kad sam predavao kao stalni predavač na postdiplomskim studijima,

I supported many undergraduates with their mental health challenges.

podržavao sam mnoge studente u njihovim izazovima psihičkog zdravlja.

I saw African students struggle

Vidio sam da se afrički studenti muče

and unable to speak to anyone.

i ne mogu govoriti bilo kome.

Even with this knowledge and with their stories in tow,

Čak i sa ovim znanjem i sa njihovim pričama na umu,

I, in turn, struggled,

ja sam se, također, kolebao,

and could not speak to anyone when I faced my own anxiety,

i nisam mogao nikome reći kad bih se suočio sa svojom tjeskobom,

so deep is our fear of being the madman.

toliko je dubok naš strah od toga da budemo ludi.

All of us --

Svi mi --

but we Africans especially --

ali mi Afrikanci posebno --

need to realize that our mental struggles do not detract from our virility,

trebamo shvatiti da naše psihičke borbe ne umanjuju našu muževnost,

nor does our trauma taint our strength.

niti da naša trauma kalja našu snagu.

We need to see mental health as important as physical health.

Trebamo shvatiti da je psihičko zdravlje jednako bitno kao fizičko zdravlje.

We need to stop suffering in silence.

Trebamo prestati patiti u tišini.

We must stop stigmatizing disease

Moramo prestati stigmatizirati bolesti

and traumatizing the afflicted.

i traumatizirati unesrećene.

Talk to your friends.

Razgovarajte s prijateljima.

Talk to your loved ones.

Razgovarajte s voljenima.

Talk to health professionals.

Razgovarajte sa liječnicima.

Be vulnerable.

Budite ranjivi.

Do so with the confidence

Napravite tako sa pouzdanjem

that you are not alone.

da niste sami.

Speak up if you're struggling.

Progovorite ako se mučite.

Being honest about how we feel

Govoriti otvoreno o tome kako se osjećamo

does not make us weak;

ne čini nas slabima;

it makes us human.

čini nas ljudima.

It is time to end the stigma associated with mental illness.

Vrijeme je da ukinemo stigmu povezanu sa psihičkom bolesti.

So the next time your hear "mental,"

Zato idući put kad čuješ "psihički,"

do not just think of the madman.

ne misli samo o luđaku.

Think of me.

Misli o meni.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)