Esther Passaris Reveals Her Fight With Mental Health Disorders Since Childhood
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris revealed that she faced four different types of mental health challenges as a child.
Passaris took to the House floor on Wednesday and told her colleagues about her struggles with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I want to talk from a point of experience being somebody who actually suffers many mental conditions. I’m not ashamed to say that when I was young I suffered from some of these conditions,” she said.
“I actually came to realise when I was much older as a parent that I was dyslexic, I had no idea until when my children were diagnosed with the condition that’s when I realised that I had it. First of all my handwriting is bad, I can’t even read it,” Passaris revealed.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to difficulties identifying speech sounds and understanding how they relate to letters and words.
Passaris admitted to missing conjugation, which is the variation of a verb’s form in an inflected language such as Latin that identifies the voice, mood, tense, number, and person.
I want to talk from a point of experience being somebody who actually suffers from many mental conditions. I am not ashamed to say that when I was young, undiagnosed, I actually came to realise when I was much older as a parent, that I was dyslexic. I had no idea that I was… pic.twitter.com/UGjt9iXbtC
— Mzalendo (@MzalendoWatch) August 7, 2024
This, she claimed, would make her mind race so fast.
“One of the things you really suffer from when you are dyslexic is mathematics because if somebody tells you to write 1986 you will write 1968 because you take the last number first so a lot of parents are not aware.”
Passaris also revealed that her teacher used to beat her to improve her handwriting, which included capitalizing sentences and ending with a full stop.
The legislator claimed that battling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) made her appear stubborn.
A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and activity that affect attention, concentration, and self-control.
“My father used to think that I was so naughty; I could not listen, I could not sit still. I was running around, going to the corner and I couldn’t even stay there. I just had so much energy,” Passaris said.
She stated that a person suffering from ADHD requires medication to remain calm, but the drugs are extremely expensive.
The MP admitted that her school was unaware of her mental health issues.
She stated that she once saw a psychiatrist who was aware of her mental health issues.
However, during the examination, the psychiatrist informed her that she had another mental health issue: obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD).
“What happened is that I was in his clinic and I used to see that his tiles were actually disorderly and one day I told him that I wanted to give you a Christmas present so can I do tiles for you,” she said.
The psychiatrist, she claimed, told her that was how he knew she had a problem.
OCD frequently revolves around themes such as a fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a specific order.
Passaris said she never cried after witnessing the bloodshed during the 2007/2008 post-election violence. She was simply sad but unable to cry.
During her medical examination, she was told she has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
This is a mental condition brought on by a terrifying event, resulting in flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.
Passaris stated that the good news for her was that she battled through the ailments while under treatment and support.
“I was able to afford the treatment but I know these are not rich men’s diseases; these conditions are for everybody yet medical facilities and insurances do not provide for prescription drugs,” she regretted.
Passaris was speaking in response to a motion introduced by Likoni MP Mishi Mboko that seeks to compel the government to develop a policy integrating mental healthcare services into all healthcare facilities across the country.
Esther Passaris Reveals Her Fight With Mental Health Disorders Since Childhood
