Health
Depression , Suicide and the Idea of Progress Among Young Africans
Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu
The tragic rise of the idea of man as an economic creature , which reduces a human being to a mere consumer while eulogizing competition as the foundational ethic of human relations has resulted in the epidemics of self-harm , depression , loneliness , anxiety , phobias and disorders .
The rising cases of depression and suicide among young Africans continue to point to the fact that a lot of work needs to be done as far as educating that generation on the real meaning of human existence and on what progress in life entails . Contrary to prevailing trends , the work that needs to be done is not in teaching entrepreneurship skills , nor in expounding the necessity of science , technology and mathematics or other such academic and money‐making strategies . While those are not to be discontinued in their entirety , young Africans need to first be weaned off the illusion that self‐actualization lies in the individualistic pursuit of wealth , status or other such accumulations . Life , to be loved and enjoyed , has to be about cooperation , communality and community .
Prior to the spread of the Western neo‐liberal agenda across the region , many traditional African societies viewed social relationships as the very essence of life and living . Interacting with fellow mortals from a place of community , cooperation and compassion , defined human
Images by Alex Green Pexels
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